Know Thyself
by Honey-On-Toast
Summary: Blossom had a feeling her first meeting with Berserk wouldn't be her last. Trapped as Blossom's reflection having tried to escape the alternate reality, Berserk has to encourage the bookworm to accept herself in order to find freedom from her maddening limbo. However Blossom isn't keen on freeing her chaotic doppelganger so easily. F/FBlosserk. FINISHED! T for swearing and violence
1. Meet your shadow

For a long time, Blossom had attempted to ignore the knocking.

It had started out as a teasing reminder, of their insidious encounter. Then, after the years, the noise became more pestering and persistent. She kept quiet, not knowing at all how or IF she should answer. This consistent sound however was not emitted from a single door, or if you would dare to even consider it that, but from a reflection. EVERY reflection. No longer was it limited to the adorable dresser mirror which had been made into a vortex to an alternate universe. Now it seemed as if Berserk had followed her beyond that: hellbent on escaping from the dull dystopia produced by Oppressor Plutonium. However, the evil doppelganger now found herself trapped in a state of being, wedged between one world and the other, caught within the reflection of her alternate universal rival, Blossom.

Berserk followed the hero everywhere, as vast a frame as the glass construction of a skyscraper, to the miserable murky puddles in the damp and dark. It was a sick form of limbo and the evil counterpart thought for years and years how to escape the state and that's when the tapping, the knocking, became more determined.

Blossom, on the other hand, was perusing a form of limbo too, more leaning towards the clutches of a kind of living hell. Every moment of every day, she was on edge. She'd easily become distracted, costing her her health and quality in her duties to serve and protect the citizens of Townsville. Her esteem plummeted, feeling she was becoming a nuisance on her dear sisters. Were they dealing with the same anxiety she was? Were they seeing of their previous counterparts in every conceivable reflection known on earth? Were they being subdued to this daily torment? No. They were free from any kind of morbid afflictions. That made it worse. She couldn't confide in anybody that she was being watched and she was just waiting for the moment where the delinquent double would strike when she least suspected it.

Finally, the bookworm arose from under the bed covers, levitating up and letting the sheets fall without a single tug to disturb her siblings. In the blackness, she drifted silently out the room and down the stairs. It was a point of surrender and she despised herself for it. She was the leader, the smart one, the appointed powerpuff girl who made the decisions and was a renowned problem solver, but this... this was just torture. What did this lingering double of her want? Why had she stayed so long? Tonight she'd find out.

She flew into the basement, the professor's lab; minor confirming bleeps from the machinery and soft whirs were a minor ease for her. As light as a feather, she rested herself upon the cold tiled floor. A tall mirror the professor kept at the side for experiments involving lazers stood draped in a grubby cloth. Taking a deep breath, the redhead snatched a hold of the cotton cover and yanked the material off to reveal Berserk, standing in front of her at the ready. This was a long awaited confrontation and so far nothing was happening that appeared to be of any remote threat. Blossom's tensed stance began to loosen, weaken, as the seconds ticked by, but she never averted her wide cherry pink eyes away from the intense blood red pair. This was certainly an uneventful stand off.

The anxiety pumped leader was expecting so much more than this and she began to feel years of suppressed dread just evaporate. It was if an invisible hand was loosening it's tight grip around the girl and she could literally feel the beads of sweat, containing all her fear, rain from her skin and onto the slick clean floor. At first she was relieved... then confused... then enraged.

The reflection cocked an amused smirk, as she watched the 'cool headed' leader submit to her own frustration; yelling, punching and kicking furiously at thin air, obviously trying to withstand some composure, as she hadn't wanted to harm any of the professor's equipment. It was certainly an ideal place for her to let out some steam otherwise. Utonium had recently made the lab sound proof, so as not to disturb the girls with their studies for their on coming exams. Whilst the rest of the family lay at sleep peacefully, none-the-wiser to the bookworm's worries, the gal let out years of pent up intensity, wanting so badly to slam her fists into the ground or to throw a colossal boulder into the seemingly endless reaches of the sea... but she couldn't.

Worn out from her outburst, she fell to her knees before the mirror, panting, her sweat resulting in her nightie clinging close to her heated skin.

What was to be expecting now then, if anything?...

"So... are you gonna continue to be a mountainous, stubborn bitch and keep ignoring me or are we gonna make some god-damn progress tonight?"

It sounded like Blossom... it should've been her... but it wasn't.

The weary gal with tangerine hair glanced up, through strands of hair, thickened and warm, pressed to her forehead. Berserk had no way of getting closer to the dumb nerd, splayed on the lab floor, but if she could, she'd be wringing the ginger's dumb throat.

"You're gonna listen to me now, right?"

 **END OF PART ONE**


	2. Blossom's Individuation Process

Break time at Midway Elementary School. Time had certainly passed since Miss Keane had worked at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. Another chapter come and gone in her life. Miss Keane delighted in observing the precious children at break, walking through the halls and keeping a watch out.

"Ah, ah! Princess, share with your classmates... Good!"

She was never intrusive. She swept by when in need of advice and appeared just in the nick of time when sour moods were thought to dampen the atmosphere. If anything got out of hand, thankfully, the girls would be there to help, although she tried not to have too high expectations on the girls, as she was fully aware how unprofessional it would be to apparently depend on them, especially when they had big problems going on in Townsville to deal with.

A cool breeze rushed by and the teacher took a grip on her cardigan, shivering some at that unexpected gust on such a clear and warm day. She listened out, hearing a draw of breath, from the playground, beyond the fence that contained the students. In the darkness of the woods, sitting outside the educational perimeter, Blossom was constructing her own mirror with her ice breath, leaning against a tree.

She called over to the youngster, bending her knees some "Blossom? Is that you over there? Why are you outside the school bounds?"

* * *

 _"You've survived like this for so long? It's unbelievable" Blossom said, flabbergasted. She knelt on the floor, still a fair distance from the mirror. Her doppelganger copied her physical actions._

 _"No kidding, egghead. I was gonna die of boredom here" her double snapped._

 _The mirror had begun to project a curious wavering glow, like that from a television screen, giving a dim aura in the room that appeared to engulf both of the girls in their dark rooms. Berserk was as close to the mirror as she could physically get, unlike Blossom who was still keeping an understandably wary distance. Shifting her legs so as to hug her knees, which Berserk copied, although she didn't have to, Blossom chewed her lip, still trying to make heads of the situation._

 _"So... what now?" she pondered quietly._

 _"Huh?"_

 _"This situation. You can't stay like this forever"_

 _"You mean YOU can't" the counterpart verbally stabbed, taking the hero aback. "Yeah, forget about the compassionate route of 'oh, we have to think of other people'. Nuh-uh. All this shit is about YOU"_

 _"What? How can you say that?" Blossom exclaimed, scowling at the use of profanity._

 _"I'm your shadow"_

 _A pause: some buffering in the brain. Aaand... continue._

 _"Shad- wait, what?! That doesn't make any sense"_

 _"C'mon, Blossom. We're talking about Carl Jung here. Individuation process. The self, ego and soul... help me out here!"_

 _The nerd's jaw dropped. The fact she was hearing about her enemy try to talk to her about psychology like this was mind boggling, not that she hadn't heard of Jung._

 _"Yeah, nice try. A shadow... that's the best you can do?"_

 _Berserk was losing her patience "I ain't messing you with you, ya damn dork! I'm your shadow! You can't tell me that none of this makes sense to you"_

 _"This was a mistake" Blossom sighed, grabbing the cloth and floating over to the mirror in attempts to cover it back up._

 _"Fine! Stay in the dark. It's no wonder you're so miserable. You think so much about everybody and everything else, but you never stop to think of yourself. 'Cus what do YOU matter, right?"_

 _The baby pink eyed gal stopped instantly upon hearing that. The seizing of her movements made the raging double proceed._

 _"And sometimes you wished you mattered. That people would see you beyond your ego, what people WANT to see everyday from you: the hero. Heck, maybe you feel you're justified to be an asshole at times. You know what? It's okay! Be an asshole. Everybody else is in someway. Why not leave peoples concerns at bay for a single day and do something you wanna do regardless of what people think! Stop giving so much of a damn of being Miss Perfect and maybe you might start feeling happy!"_

 _Now it was Berserk's turn to do some panting. The nemesis had been pent up for so long in this now almost pointless existence, caught between two gateways to dimensions, and she just wanted to be in one of them. In some reality, rather than looking out of the mirror, like through a window all the time. Her hands trembled and she clenched them, pounding her fist down into the floor._

 _Blossom squeaked at the rupture of floor tiles in the room and flew back, dropping the cloth. She held her hands to her mouth in shock and Berserk looked up, puzzled. Pressing her hands against the mirror, she looked over into Blossom's side and saw that a spot, like where she had been positioned on her side, had shards of tile remaining from a firm puncture._

 _"Did... Did I do that?" Berserk mused, smiling._

 _"O-okay! Okay, I'll listen" Blossom assured, floating back over, closer to the mirror again. She wasn't sure what had happened, but from what Berserk did, she sure as heck didn't want for it to happen again._

* * *

Blossom turned her attention to the sound source and sighed.

"Welp, that's my calling card"

"The hell are you talking about? Right now?" Berserk scowled, the mirror half done, showing a chunk of her head missing, like a bite from an apple. "You're giving in so easily. What about what we talked about last night? Have you learned nothing?"

The hero blinked and looked back over shoulder, to the school fencing. Her instincts were calling her to go back, to explain to Miss Keane for her momentary absence, to say why she was breaking the rules and going out of bounds. However, today that obedience had been mentally thrown away and Blossom picked up the mirror, carrying it further away into the isolating reaches of the forest.

 **END OF PART TWO**


	3. What's in it for me?

A monitor, displaying a steady line. Assured safety. Absence of abnormalities that would be considered a potential hazard.

Absolute quietness.

The guard yawned at his set routine and flung his feet up onto the counter, adjusting his seat and a lazy curve of content sat on his fat, droopy lips. A snore. Slumber at his station. A stale fragrance from cold coffee lingered in the room.

The drill pumped further and further into the earth. Geologists would be coming in tomorrow to see of the findings. Something was to be expected. The mechanics rotated smoothly, consecutively. The drill, deeper.

The line on the monitor trembled.

A guttural noise droned from deep down into the pit, as if something had been awakened from a deep sleep. It contorted messily into a bellow... and then a thunderous roar.

* * *

Two lines of blue and green struck across the sky, as the sun was lowering, deeper beyond vision, staining a fierce red across the clouds.

"Where is she?" muttered Buttercup.

"It's not like Blossom to just disappear like this" responded the sweet blonde Bubbles, her lips pouted, voice raised into an unbearably high pitch, and teetering just on the brink of a vocal edge.

"Don't you DARE start crying! She's fine. We just need to find a way to contact her"

The raven haired tomboy sped up onto the tip of a skyscraper, a foot lightly resting upon a needle like point and placed her palms to her temples, eyes closed intently. Bubbles floated nearby, giving a respectful distance.

Taking a deep breath, Buttercup began humming. A deep calling almost undetectable by the most sophisticated and high tech monitors, only audible to the girls and girls alone. She wasn't telepathic, but it was a communication that was heeded to in the most urgent of emergencies.

* * *

"I think I get it" Blossom nodded, sitting cross legged on a tree stump. It over looked a pit, more appropriately a chasm. The finished shard of ice used as mirror leaned against a healthy oak tree and Berserk flicked her hair decorations about distractedly.

"Good, so you know this a process that's gonna take time. The more stubborn you are, the longer this crap is gonna take"

"I'd appreciate it if you stopped swearing" informed the goody-two-shoes, bluntly.

"Oh, screw you! I'm your shadow! I can swear whenever I like! You're no boss of me and you never will be!"

"What makes you so sure? The whole point is to discover myself right?"

"You may discover yourself, but you can't be sure you'd maintain control of yourself! The shadow is the stuff you cram into the back of the room, deep in your closet, because it scares you, 'cus it's bothersome, embarrassing, reckless and illogical. The shadow thrives on your emotions when they're at their worst. I figured you'd have learned this by now"

Raising a brow, the sweet, pink bowed gal couldn't help but raise a smile "You're pretty proud of that, ain't ya?"

"It's what I live for, hun" Berserk smirked "I love filling people with terror. I like putting people at my mercy, showing everyone who's boss. I crave it"

"Huh, like I haven't heard any of that before" Blossom sarcastically mused.

The hero caught herself, clapping a hand over her mouth. Berserk grinned.

"See that? That was ME talking. Your shadow"

Blossom nervously, mentally fumbled "I err..."

"Blossom, chill, dammit! It's okay" the rebel sighed, raising herself into the air, perched in a lying-on-her-side position. "When it comes to me, the point is to show a side you wouldn't normally. I'm your pride, your dark desires, your phobias, your instinctive actions that does first and asks questions later. You can do whatever you want with me"

"I guess it's just hard for me to accept that... you're me. That deep down I wanna be... like you"

Berserk's eyes widened slightly, then she flicked aside her jagged, zig-zagged ribbons, in attempts to cover her light blushing. "That's err... kinda cute, but that's not what this is about"

"Huh?"

"You DON'T wanna be me... at all! My traits are curiosities, hatred, fears and desires from you. I'm a manifestation and embodiment of the parts of you that you despise. You don't wanna be something you HATE, right?"

"Oh!" nodded Blossom, looking down a bit, still trying to get her head around it. "R-right... I was wrong" she whispered, apologetically, she didn't even get why.

"That's your shadow talking again" explained the double cockily, grinning. Blossom hadn't noticed before, but her counterpart had a wicked pair of fangs.

Something occurred to Blossom at that moment. What good was her counterpart going to get just by listening to her, like some opened diary or therapist? Last night, she understood that in order to free Berserk she had to 'Accept' her. What did that mean? What would that mean for HER? What would that mean for everybody? Last time, she breezed through the portal and caused destruction and mayhem, leaving ravage in her wake on Townsville. Was she going to let that happen again?

"What you thinking, dork?" sneered the double. Although physically she couldn't do anything, the way she spoke sounded as if if she were free, she'd be giving the bookworm a noogie. She was already _feeling_ Berserk's spirit beyond the mirror and it gave her the creeps.

"Thinking... what's in it for me freeing you into THIS universe? Why can't you go back the way you came?" the hero scowled, projecting a defying stance at the mirror.

The counterpart snorted "I don't wanna go back to that dump"

"Well, maybe I don't want you here in Townsville"

Berserk grinned. "You don't have a choice. You can't ignore me all your life. I'll just get bigger and bigger and bigger, until it becomes impossible to ignore me. I'll drive you absolutely insane. _I'll take you over._ Don't think you're in power right now, Blossom. If anyone here has the upper-hand, it's me"

"You'll die of boredom before you do that" the hero laughed, unaware her shadow already starting to speak more frequently now.

 **END OF PART THREE**

 _(Hey guys. Don't know if this is boring you already, but as you can probably tell from the start of this chapter, there will be an epic monster fight coming up. I know this is dialogue heavy, but I thought I'd explain more of the situation. Not just the shadow will be talked about, but other elements in Carl Jung's Process. The Animus will be brought up, meaning the RowdyRuff Boys will be appearing soon, as well as confrontations and fights with other characters you may not expect. If you know anything about The Individuation Process, let me know if I make any mistakes whilst explaining, as I don't wanna muddy stuff up too much and actually TRY to be somewhat educational to the readers._

 _Also, see at the end that Berserk will be making her way into the universe in a way which is unexpected. Consider the transferring almost like a form of 'Possession'. The last sentance is meant to indicate that Berserk is already starting to seep into the universe without Blossom being aware of it, so, some creepy elements and stuff relating to horror will be sneaking into the story._

 _Until next time, if you have suggestions, criticism, etc, leave a review. Hope you've been enjoying it. Bye!_


	4. I will come and destroy

"Blossom" rose a stern, agitated voice.

All the girls had arrived back into the residence and Professor Utonium sat comfortably at his arm chair with a pipe. When Blossom had detected the calling from her sisters, she immediately went to them and, after a scolding and having to comfort a hysterical Bubbles, apologised for scaring the wits outta them. Blossom's mind was racing with panic and frustration. Being with her shadow, she had indeed started to feel a sense of freedom. Only now did she start to come to terms with her shackles and chains. They were everywhere and were tying her to everything. Her eyes averted to the side at a picture of the family up on the wall. A familiar pair of eyes returned her stare and delivered a wide, devilish smile, the jagged accessories wavering in the minor reflection.

"Come over here to me. Buttercup, Bubbles, up to your rooms. I'll call you down for dinner later"

They nodded in a robotic manner and darted up into the room, their colour traits fading behind them. The leader slowly walked across the room towards her father. Under his firm gaze, she looked up at him, hands tucked behind her back.

"I left the school without any informing of my absence and I apologize. It will not happen again, Professor" she said blandly.

"Somehow, I doubt your sincerity" the Professor admitted. The girl looked down sadly, feeling trapped.

 _"The wise old man"_ whispered Berserk, condescendingly, emphasizing each word.

Blossom blinked.

 _"Your father is the archetype of the all-knowing. One of Jung's archetype's, renowned for wisdom and judgement, and he's not the only one in your life. He thinks he knows everything and, therefore, has a right to seek control on what he wishes, but he doesn't"_

 _"He's my father"_ Blossom hissed in a whisper.

 _"So?"_

 _"Just leave me alone"_

"So, what's your reason for 'playing hooky', as Buttercup puts it?" inquired the man, rising from his chair and walking into the kitchen, perhaps to maintain privacy and avoid the curious eyes of his two daughters upstairs.

"I guess I'm having an existential crisis"

The professor covered his mouth, masking his uncontrollable smile of mockery. His kids could be so cute sometimes.

"Wouldn't you say you're a bit young for that kind of thing, dear?"

"I don't know, _am I?_ " she shot, unintentionally. She covered her mouth regretfully, spotting her fathers wide eyes, her shadow having been seeping out again.

 _"Whatever you're doing, stop it!"_ whispered Blossom, nearly inaudibly to a nearby kettle.

"It's all you" defended the punk, cleaning her nails, her formation bent and curved.

 _"Well, forgive me if I find that hard to believe"_ she snapped mentally. "I'm very sorry Professor. I didn't mean to backchat you. I didn't know what came over-"

Utonium raised his hand, gesturing for her to fall silent and she obeyed. "Sit down, Blossom, and tell me what's going on"

Levitating herself up, she placed herself comfortably on the kitchen counter, next to the kettle, next to Berserk, who stuck her tongue out at her. Whether or not others could see her was still to be questioned. She thought probably not.

"What reason was there for you to run away and out of school? You say it's an Existential Crisis. Is it? What are you upset about?" the Professor softly began, taking a stool and seating himself so he was at level with Blossom.

"I felt like being irrational" she mumbled sadly.

"Oh?" replied the man, raising a brow.

"I guess I feel like I'm trapped within myself, within what people expect of me. I'm kinda sick of it"

"What people expect of you?"

"C'mon, Professor. I'm a Powerpuff girl. The leader, the problem solver, the smart one. I don't wanna have so many responsibilities all the time like this. Aren't I just a kid?"

"I wouldn't say they're responsibilities. They're traits that define us" Utonium offered helpfully.

"It's a responsibility to me. Being a leader, I'm supposed to think of what's morally right in every situation..."

"It's a difficult thing for a lot of people and it can be very admirable and inspirational to others. That's a good thing. You want that don't you?"

"But, I'm tired! Sometimes I get sick of it and want somebody else to take charge, but then I feel guilty or have this selfish feeling that someone will just mess it up, so I feel I have to". Blossom was letting out more than she had intended, but maybe that was a good thing.

"If you're good at something, it's natural to feel pride in what you do. But, if it stresses you out so much, why not let one of your sisters take charge or take turns then?"

"B-because..."

Berserk held her hand up to her ear, metaphorically, awaiting the bomb shell.

"Because they'll just screw everything up!"

Bingo!

Utonium gasped "Blossom! How can you say that?"

"Because, it's how I feel and what I think... and maybe sometimes I don't care how other people feel and think. Must I walk on eggshells my whole life just to make people feel good?"

The man rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Hopefully this was just teen angst and was a phase, her still looking to find her lot in life beyond being a superhero "I suppose you DO have your right to say what you think, but do you think it's fair to harm others for it?"

Blossom shook, feeling more and more of Berserk fill her mind, and she bore her teeth with anger, her eyes shifting to a form of blood red "Maybe they deserve it!"

"Blossom!"

She paused, taking a moment, then turned to the kettle. Within, she could see a different face, one which was sad. A pink bow decorated her head and she wore a sweet cherry-blossom pink dress. Gobsmacked, Blossom rubbed her eyes, resorting them back to their original pink hue and saw Berserk winking at her. She flew off from the counter, looking at her hands, trembling.

"W-what... what's happening to me?" she stuttered fearfully.

"Blossom..."

"N-no, stay away from me!" she cried, turning herself away from him.

His jaw dropped and he reached out his hand to her, his eyes glazed with sympathy " Blossom, come down... please. I'm not angry"

"No!"

"I'm your father and I want to help. I just want to understand..."

"You won't. You can't. I'll just end up hurting you and everyone else!"

There was doubt that the two other siblings had now sneaked out of their designated retreat and were floating half-way down the stairs to hear the dispute, jaws also on the floor. Lips wavering, feeling tears rise in her large eyes, she maneuvered closer to the door.

"Blossom, please..." pleaded Buttercup, in a half-whisper. She was unsure what was going on, but these actions seemed to have come out of nowhere.

A squeak in the air and a strip of pink light shot out from the residence. The professor, Bubbles and Buttercup called out after their distraught family member.

In a reflection somewhere, Berserk was cackling menacingly.

* * *

The dig was in ruins. Police had surrounded the area waiting for investigators to make out what was happening. A hideous dark orb hung in the air above the pit. The machinery and the station appeared to have collapsed and was swallowed by the void. It was unknown if there were any survivors to the incident. Just then, a shift in the air. Everyone froze to observe the movement of the spherical mass.

Two extensions, revealed to be arms, then a mass, like gloop, dropped from the center, like cracking open an egg. The gloop swerved and swirled and a new sphere formed above the previous, with flaps and another hose like form. The head of a 3 eyed elephant. The body plump and obese, snail like extensions of eyes where the nipples would be on the chest and the gloop, an enormous tongue, acting as a slug like platform for the beast, descending from the belly, a space opened up like jaws, with protruding fangs as sharp as shards of glass.

The creature softly placed its hands together, closed all its eyes except the one in the center of its head, like a bindi, and vaporized everything in sight.

 **END OF PART FOUR**


	5. Making a first step

She hoped her sisters hadn't attempted to follow her. This time, she wouldn't go back until she felt good and ready. This situation had to be dealt with and the last thing she wanted was to deal with it in secret and under everybody's noses. The people she loved didn't deserve that. They didn't deserve to be lied too. She'd tell them about it when she went back, assuming they'd listen to her.

She sat by idly on the back of a discarded pick-up truck, one waiting to be crushed, and sat and looked over at what 'was' The Gang Green Gang's den. The boys had taken a severe beating and were piled up, 'taking a break' to heal, they said. Blossom had found some mirrors at the dump and surrounded the den with them, so Berserk could get some room and attack them from all angles. Yeah, Blossom hadn't done _anything_.

She raised a brow, watching the doppelganger enjoy herself. Getting used to her ability to effect things on the other side of the mirror, she started to play some of the gang's music, most of it rip-off garbage, some of it fairly decent, the sorta stuff Buttercup would listen to. She was head-banging, swishing her waves of hair around in sheer delight to 'Bad Girlfriend' by _Theory of a Deadman._ Was this seriously what she really wanted, what she really liked?

"Hey, egghead! Quit moping and get off your ass. Dance with me!"

"Err, that's not really my thing"

"You're bullshitting me, right? Stop being friggin' pouty and stubborn and get over here"

Sighing angrily, like it was a huge effort, she lifted herself off the filthy back of the truck and drifted over, arms folded.

The devilish double grinned excitedly as Blossom approached. The hero gasped in horror, her heart lodging in her throat tightly, when she watched the ribbons on her twin rise like snakes to the sound of a bansuri, her skull and cross-bone barrette rattling. They lunged forth, out from the mirror and seized the hero by the arms and whipped her forth, causing a collision with her and the frame of the mirror. Blossom grimaced quietly "Ouch"

"Heh, heh. That was funny" chuckled the double.

Blossom stood, rubbing her face from the impact "Okay, you had your fun. Now, let me go"

She was tugged back up against the mirror frame, more firmly this time and Berserk made a sultry whisper to her "Where you going? Aren't you gonna dance with me?" The feign attempt of sweetness, along with the whisper, sent shivers down Blossom's spine.

"How are you even doing this? How did you make your ribbons come out of the mirror?"

"Heck if I know"

The leader narrowed her brows intently "So, even you don't really know what's happening? How can I be so sure to trust you? I mean, you're my shadow, but metaphorically speaking. You're not a literal manifestation of my repressed desires and feelings, you're a whole other person..."

"Glad you've kept a straight head with all of this"

"So... can I assume that I'm just as much a shadow for you, as you consider yourself for me?" suggested the hero smartly.

Berserk's smile twisted into a muddled expression, between intrigue and offense "You think you're a representation of my own repressed instincts? Get a grip, chick!"

"Don't you ever feel like doing good for other people, Berserk? Like, your sisters? Don't you miss them?" Blossom grunted, trying to get herself free. Then she gave in to the slow movements, like Berserk was moving her like some puppet to make it seem they were dancing together.

"What good will that do me? I can do whatever I want. People just get in the way and make things complicated"

The pink bowed gal hummed in interest "Who makes things complicated?"

"Whiny, little butt-sneezes like _you!_ "

"There must be someone you show compassion for. Someone who if they got hurt you'd sympathize with"

A bright red light washed over the hero's vision, then faded. Next thing she knew, she was indented into the bonnet of the vehicle she had previously sat on. Groaning, she managed to sit upright, caressing her throbbing head from the visual blast projected by her counterpart. Maybe, she'd final struck a nerve.

"Blossom, I see what you're trying here and it ain't gonna work. I'm evil! I come from a parallel dimension where I basically rule! Even if I did feel compassion, that requires trust and I don't trust anyone but myself!"

"You trust me to get out from being a reflective state"

"I can get outta here any time I want!"

"Yeah? Go ahead, humor me, _bitch!_ " shot Blossom with a wide grin. She wasn't really shocked that her counterpart was rubbing off on her. She just had to watch her mouth around school and at home "And if it's any of that possession crap, that doesn't count. I want YOU out here now!"

"My, my. So determined" sang the double, rubbing her mitts together. "But, you know that's impossible. Sure, my ribbons can drift through, but that's not a part of my body"

"So, what, I can hand you stuff and you can take it?"

"Dunno. Possibly. I'm able to fire my lasers at you. I'd be more shocked if you couldn't"

Blossom shot off from her spot and searched the dump. Berserk stood by, waiting. She was somewhere without a form of reflection. No kettles, mirrors, shiny pipes, plastics, glass, or even water. There was something indeed unnerving about that and for once, Berserk was afraid. The past few years, Blossom had always been around objects that reflect. As a last resort, Blossom could leave and find somewhere without a hint of reflection and then she would be stuck in this limbo forever.

"B-Blossom?" she croaked, uneasily.

Was she going to have to bow down to find some acceptance and free herself? Was SHE at Blossoms mercy?

Just when her pride had started to flee, a washing machine invaded the mirror space and Berserk flew back with the force.

"YES! I can do it!" cheered Blossom from a distance. Swooping back over, she couldn't help but chuckle, seeing the smug and boastful version of herself be thrown off her feet. "Haha. You okay, dude?"

She evaded the returning kitchen appliance just in time and watched it disappear into the garbage heaps behind her with a smile.

"Man, you can hit hard when you wanna"

"What, you think I was gonna come back with some house-warming gift? Man, no wonder people find me easy to predict sometimes"

A thought occurred to her and Berserk delivered a sincere smile, seeing that Blossom had discovered something.

"Holy crap! No wonder people like Mojo jojo find me so easy to trick. They've mapped out my whole thought process. I'm so predictable! Because they know that I would think things through, they know I care so much about people and that I wanna take peaceful routes to problems"

"Seems like you've taken your first step in the right direction" mused the double.

She jumped back, taking on a defensive stand readily, then realized there was no threat. Blossom had swept across the space between them and had put her arms out over the mirror, the side of her head pressed against the cool frame, marked with scratches and sticky residue. Berserk was puzzled and slowly came closer, looking at Blossom hug the mirror. It was kinda pathetic, but Berserk's verbal comeback had melted away and instead she gazed helplessly at her counterpart, trying to show some signs of affection.

It was embarrassing, a sign of weakness. A chance for exploitation. However, she couldn't help but feel a woozy sensation in her chest, watching Blossom give a soft smile, resting her head on the glass, that should otherwise be her shoulder. To feel some physical contact after so long, be it through fighting or something as... repulsive as this, would be some kinda cruel blessing.

Blossom hadn't expected any reciprocation, but was slightly worried by the lack of protest. Until, she found herself in her double's ribbons again. They snaked around her waist, under her arms and they retracted gently, easing Blossom against the glass firmly and softly. Berserk felt herself press herself up against the reflection, her forehead wanting to nuzzle her double's hair, in the struggle for a embrace.

The two stood awkwardly situated, in the damp, dreary, disgusting clutches of the dump, caught in their own little world.

 _"Damn... what the hell is wrong with me"_ mentally growled Berserk, wanting this stupid feeling to just go away.

 **END OF PART FIVE**


	6. Finding yourself

Bubbles watched her sister, Buttercup, frantically throw aside chunks of the room, possessions of Blossom. For a full hour, she'd paraded and marched back forth, like some frustrated animal in a cage. Mumbling nothing to herself, flying, running, throwing, scraping, piling up and sorting.

"What are you doing?" asked a perplexed Bubbles, daring not to set foot in the bedroom, for fear or being objectified and thrown about herself.

"There must be a reason Blossom's feeling the way she is. It's obvious she's felt like this for a long time. I just don't get why she never said anything before or how we never saw anything to indicate something was wrong"

"Maybe she doesn't trust us" the blonde mumbled dimly.

"It's not that at all"

"No?"

"I have a feeling she's protecting us from something or is hiding something. But, what?". The raven haired kid threw back her head. "Why does she have to be so dang cryptic?!"

"Girls, settle down now" addressed the professor, his head peeking into the trashed room. His face wore a form of serenity, however a hint of misery tainted his soft voice.

"Professor, how are you so calm right now?" peeped Bubbles, drifting up to see him.

"Blossom just yells at you then flies back out, after we were patrolling the city looking for her. You're just gonna let her do that?" bit Buttercup.

The man sighed hopelessly "There's nothing we can do, Buttercup"

"I can fly back out! I'll find her and kick her butt and bring her back. We were worried sick about her all day and she leaves AGAIN without saying where she's going. AGAIN!"

"Your sister needs some time to think about things"

"Why couldn't she tell us what's bothering her?" whispered Bubbles, cuddling Octi to her chest. Utonium scooped the girls from the air and to his chest, walking over to the bed to sit them down.

"People can't always explain what they're thinking and how they're feeling, Bubbles. A lot of the time, they need to be alone to understand things and make things clear for themselves. Right now, I know you're worried and confused, just like I am, but Blossom is a smart girl with a lot on her plate. She's discovering who she is and the last thing a friend or family member needs to do is get in the way of that"

"Know who she is?" queried Buttercup, arms folded. "She's Blossom! A Powerpuff Girl! A Utonium! A hero, a genius... what more does she need to know and understand?"

"There's more to it than that"

"What, like being a _dork_?"

"Buttercup..."

"I just don't get why she can't talk to us! I promise I won't make fun of her or anything" the tomboy groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Trust me on this, Buttercup. She'll talk to us when she feels ready. Now it's time to get some sleep"

Kissing both their foreheads, he walked to the door, turning off the light and closing the door behind him. Downstairs in the kitchen, he went to clear up the plates from dinner, his expression of heartache worsening when he laid eyes on the place for Blossom that was set. A full meal gone cold, untouched.

* * *

Townsville blinked its countless eyes in the impending dead of dead, lights flicking off, getting ready for another busy day. Just when the majority had switched off, indicating the last citizen was in their bed, every one of the windows lights flicked on automatically, flickering throughout the city like a strange festive arrangement. The earth shook. A sweet little girl ran out onto the empty road to look up, her parents eagerly calling her back inside. Up above, she saw a formation eclipsing the full moon high in the sky. A gloopy mass wavered under its obese build and then struck back down at the ground, causing the girl to lose balance, squeaking. Her father dashed out to collect her as the beast descended slowly over the city, watching every little detail. Staring out at the glaring architecture, it salivated, it's enormous tongue flicking out at some buildings, causing an almost instant corrosion. The citizens of the buildings spilled out, like a disturbed ant nest. Erecting its trunk high up, the being spoke.

 _"THE HUMAN RACE IS A PESTILENCE AND MUST BE EXTERMINATED"_

It was an unearthly voice; authoritative, in the manner of an archaic entity. It was a behemoth destined to destroy.

* * *

The leader couldn't comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Surely it had to be some sort of joke. The sewer system, of all places, would be an important factor in discovering herself? She could hardly see why or see anything for that matter. But, there was plenty to smell and the girl did her utmost to make sure she didn't touch anything. It could've been a grave yard, the woods with Fuzzy Lumpkins. Anywhere, but here!

"Please say we're going somewhere particularly and this is not our seating destination" squeaked Blossom in a plea.

"You bet your butt it is" chuckled the double.

"There's hardly a lick of light in this place. Where are you?"

"Below you"

"...Oh"

The hero squirmed in her skin, looking down at the murky river below her.

"How's it feel to be swimming in shit?" mocked the hero.

"Not bad. Why don't you join me?" Berserk laughed, the fluids splashing up near Blossom.

"Gross! Cut it out!"

The devilish double cackled meanly and kept shooting out dirty water at the girl, who proceeded to dodge them. She began to fly through the stinking maze, hoping she'd find a manhole and escape. The turns were sharp, giving her barely enough time to read what would be in front of her.

"OW!"

She fell, having been hit at full force from something. She wasn't in the water, but had landed on a slimy platform and she shuddered, picking herself up from the spot. Rats scurried away from her and she looked up to see, unfortunately, three familiar forms floating in the dark towards her.

"Hey, toots, watch where you're going!" barked Brick.

 **END OF PART SIX**


	7. No questions asked

With her eyes batting open, all Blossom could hear was the ugly yucking and yakking of the Rowdyruff Boys. Groaning after her black out, she sat up, but found she couldn't move her arms in the ways she wished. She had been tied up and left in the corner, while the delinquent lads huddled by the warm glow of the fire place, chowing on stolen candy and smacking around Boomer.

Butch chortled "Boomer, stop hitting yourself!" *WHACK* "Boomer, stop hitting yourself!" *WHACK*

Looking around, she saw that once again, Fuzzy Lumpkins had had his cabin ransacked. Magenta. Hairy. In mass. She turned, having seen the hairs out the corner of her eye and saw poor Fuzzy sitting stupidly, gagged with a cloth and tied up just like her. Leaning forward slightly, the creature reached with his antenna and pushed between them a board of checkers.

To hell with this.

"Brick!" she yelled, startling the beaten beast beside her.

The boys turned, agitated and Brick marched over to her, shadows cast over his fierce gaze. "Huh, you awake? You want more? We'll give you more, babe" he shouted, raising his sleeve.

"I just wanna talk"

"Heheh, that's girls for you" giggled the blonde boy pathetically. Butch slammed a fist down on his head, sending him through the floorboards with a series of crunching wood.

" _You're_ a girl, Boomer. Now shut up!"

"It's important" the girl attempted. She could free herself easily. Even the boys knew that. It was the number of them that intimidated her. One ruff was enough.

"I don't care if you broke your nail or if your dress doesn't match your shoes"

Brick was making this hard. Behind him, the lads laughed in hysterics at the harsh, sexist remarks.

"But, Brick..."

"Make me a sandwich"

"BRICK, LISTEN TO ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

A stunned silence. Another fragment from the broken floor broke off and landed on Boomer far below the cabin. "Ouch"

Blossom couldn't believe it. She swore at someone. Not just Berserk or herself in a mirror, but another person. She swore at Brick. Brick boiled and went to his knees, inches away from her. He grit his teeth, whispering. "I'm listening"

"I need to t-talk to you... alone... and I need a mirror"

"If this is some joke...I swear..."

"I promise. Just, please, do this for me and I'll leave you guys alone" she trembled. The boy was staring directly into her eyes, into her soul. He'd never looked at her like that.

Taking a deep breath he got to his feet and slowly let out his breath, as if exorcising a spirit of a raging bull.

"Alright" he said. "Boys, get the hell out!"

"What the heck?" peeped Butch, dumbfounded by his brother.

"Get out! Boomer, get the mirror from the closet and stuff the hairball in there!"

"But... I..."

"Shut up! I'll call you back when I'm done shoving the glass junk down her throat"

Everyone gulped, including Blossom. The lads obeyed. The black and blue Boomer zipped over to Fuzzy and carried him to the closet and brought out a tall mirror, leaning it against the wall for them.

"Ya guys having a make-out sess-" Boomer began, when Brick's fist launched straight into his face, driving him through several trees worth, until he hit the base of a mountain. Butch left, wide eyed, silently.

Quietness, Blossom blinked, her heart racing and she watched Brick turn the mirror to face her. There sat an angry Berserk, cracking her knuckles, knelt on the floor. The crimson eyed boy turned his head at the sound and his voice left him momentarily in shock.

"W-what... who the...?"

The floorboard he was standing on jolted, flinging him up at the ceiling and down to the ground again, some dusty tiles following him down. Dazed, Brick studied the mirror. He shakily arose and leaned to touch it.

"W-what... but that's... but you're..."

He jumped back in surprise, seeing the ribbons whip at him from beyond the frame "Here's the deal, dick-sweat: Blossom is getting me out of here and in order to do so, she has to 'discover' herself. So you're gonna be a chum and do exactly what we tell you to do"

Blossom shot through her ropes with her lasers and walked over to Brick, helping him up again. Brick wasn't impressed

"Yeah, and I'm Bernie Sanders. You think I'm gonna do a damn thing 'cus you can whip my ass from a distance? Who are you anyway?!"

With that, the ribbons returned to do the Powerpunk's dirty work and they entwined around the Rowdyruff, electrocuting as would an eel and held him high and off the ground. Coughing black smoke, the lad surrendered. "Okay, I'm bought. What do ya want?"

"Two things: First, you and Blossom are gonna have yourselves a heart to heart..."

"Wow... great service for a dating comp-AAAGH!" Brick joked before finding himself being fried by the ribbons again. Blossom found the method quite appealing and mentally took notes for the future for withdrawing information from villains. Who would've though she had a sadistic side to her?

Brick coughed again "Okay, I'll shut up now"

"Second, you're taking her to see Mojo jojo"

"Kiss my ass!"

Third time a charm, Blossom thought, standing in the flickering intense strobe of light emitted from the ribbons. It was starting to smell of steak and chips.

"You're wish is my command, ladi-EEEEESSS!"

Once more for luck.

The roasted bloke fell to the ground, murmuring painfully. "Well, what about you... erm...?"

"Berserk" Blossom offered.

"Berserk" Brick confirmed.

The Powerpunk brushed her ponytail, having ruffled it from the shocking. "What ABOUT me?"

"What's the deal? Who are you? Are you friends with Blossom?"

"Friend's a strong word. We're acquainted, yes"

"What's this about a 'heart to heart'? This ain't some set up or a bust or something?" the boy suspected, hands on hips

"You're Blossom's Animus"

The boy blinked, puzzled. "Animus? I don't watch that nerdy bull-crap and you can't make me"

The double face-palmed.

"Yeah, this might take a while" sighed Blossom to her doppelganger. It was only a matter of time before whatever was left of the male counterpart could be blown away by a breeze.

"An Animus is the personification of the male perception in your unconscious, Blossom"

Brick's brain broke "Say what?"

"You're a metaphor, a representation, of Blossom's view of the male gender"

"Um... okay"

Blossom pondered aloud "And to think it'd be something a bit more impressive than this"

"Are you saying I'm stupid or ugly or something?!"

"She probably wouldn't have been the first" Berserk grinned.

"But, that can't be right! What about the Professor or the Mayor? A male figure I look up to would make more sense. Why Brick?" Blossom asked, finding herself insulted somewhat.

"That's for you to find out"

"I don't have time for this stupid stuff!" cried Brick. "Are we done here? Is this what you wanted to tell me?"

"Like I said, you guys need to talk" responded the punk, sternly, with a frown.

"About freaking what?"

"Brick" the hero began quietly, putting a hand assuredly on his back. The boy stared at her, like he was about to maul her any second for just touching him. "I think I know a good way to handle this..."

* * *

Both of the brothers lingered outside, waiting for their bossy sibling to emerge from the building they raided. When the door handle squeaked, their heads spun round, attentions caught, like a cat would on a promising hunt. At first they failed to recognise who he stood beside, then, of course putting 2 + 2 together, their moods couldn't maintain on a single emotion. Faces contorted and shifted and, when they couldn't decide, just fell blank.

Blossom had changed into some spare clothing for the occasion, having borrowed a denim jacket with ripped off sleeves, a basic white shirt and some black trousers.

"Blossom's tagging along with us for the night. No questions asked. Got it?" informed the leader, his Rowdyruff troops nodding in unison.

As if the boy couldn't feel his own ego being shredded further, the curious female took his hat and placed it on her own head, squashing the bow back. Giggling in delight, she rubbed her hands across the material "So comfy"

"Yeah, yeah... Don't get used to it, babe" he muttered, arms folded, pouting slightly.

 **END OF PART SEVEN**

 _(Hello again peoples. I was doing some thinking about the progress of the story so far and was thinking the Individuation Process maybe was just a bit lame. So, if you guys want me to revise the previous chapters so I can just turn this into a tale of Blossom embracing her 'bad-side', just comment and let me know. Otherwise, I'll just continue on with the psychological stuff. I'll completely understand if you just find the info dumps tedious and kinda irrelevant to the story. Bye for now)_


	8. Knock, knock who's there?

The evening was drawing out in a way Blossom never would have ever expected. Soaring through the air, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief and, at the same time, an adrenaline. Pursuing with actions she would have never have ever remotely considered before, there was a enormous excitement that the egg-headed, stubborn, peace maker couldn't contain. As she and the boys flew at the perimeter of Townsville, meters above ocean water, she found herself performing joyous somersaults. The lads scowled, flying normally in a linear fashion, whilst Blossom expressed her thrills: zigzagging, swooping and diving as they went.

Brick averted his gaze down into the water, seeing the punk follow along with them. Right now, back at the cabin, he should've been seeing Blossom's reflection. Something wasn't right and amidst his process of thought, the punk shot him a dirty look. A fierce sight that resulted in the long haired boy quickly lifting his head back up. The brothers, curious to their leader's behavior, looked down in the direction that Brick had in the calm waters. Berserk was nowhere in sight. All they could see was the expected replication of Brick and the happy Blossom, swimming in the air from underneath them.

Butch looked to Boomer, annoyed. "Whatever this is about, it's gonna suck big time"

* * *

*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!*

The phone blared in alarm and Buttercup snatched the receiver "Hello, Mayor?"

"Buttercup! Get your sisters down here, immediately! There's some colossal monstrosity hovering over Townsville, vaporizing and melting everything! I'm struggling to find shelter for the citizens!" screamed the Mayor.

"We're on our way!"

As she hung up, Bubbles was seen staring out of the window with awe. She then turned her gaze to her tough sister, quivering her lip with fright.

"Bubbles, it's okay. We've fought without Blossom before, we can do it again. You and me, 'kay?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys and Blossom had lead themselves to an isolated spot outside a train tunnel. Lazy graffiti work splattered and scattered over the brickwork and a strong smell of old tobacco and, what Blossom hoped was, sweat. Fueled by the decay and grunge, the boys threw each other cans to work with. Another night of showing the town their colourful ways of slander.

"Here, Blossom" said Boomer, handing her a spray can. "We only pick up paint according to our colours"

"Gee, thanks"

Berserk's form bent and wobbled on the exposed train tracks, sided by the glistening stars like eyes of pure white. Amidst her assistance in vandalism, Blossom could hear clicking. Something being ignited. She turned and looked to see her doppelganger lighting up a cigarette.

 _"You're kidding me, right?"_ Blossom thought, seeing no end to the shocks and surprises her double insinuated.

"Bite me. I fancy a fag" the punk retorted, blowing a puff of smoke through the reflection, into her face.

Blossom, scowled and slowly approached her, the boys none-the-wiser to the banter.

Smirking, the devilish counterpart pressed herself to the limits of the reflection, shooting Blossom an alluring stare "Here kitty, kitty, kitty..."

"Isn't Brick worried Blossom will tattle on us?" the blonde peeped to his emerald eyed sibling.

"This whole situation is fishy if you ask me" Butch replied, spraying a very uninspired 'Butch waz heer'

Blossom crouched by the rail, squinting her eyes at her taunting counterpart and her heart stopped, watching the ribbons slip through the metal and arch up to tickle and stroke along the sides of her face. A delicate blush coloured the leader's cheeks and she found herself being mesmerized by the hypnotic stare of her double, looking directly into her eyes.

"What's tha matter, ya dumb chick? Got a strand outta place or something? Take a can and do something!" barked Brick, tossing a can at the back of her head.

Boomer took a step back, stumped "Heck, even I dunno what to write"

"Are you guys kidding me?" shrieked the long haired lad, grabbing his magma-like clumps at the sides of his head. "Blossom, give these doofus's something to say!"

Rubbing her head, she looked down at the rail, back at Berserk and for a second, her vision snapped out of focus and everything went white.

* * *

 **She felt completely indifferent, to that of her own existence. Once her mind seemed to click back into place, she had become aware of the vastness that stretched out from all around her. Gasping, she whipped her head around and saw nothing but stark, naked whiteness. And quiet... it was eerily, unnaturally silent.**

 **Before her stood a a frame, like dark marble, suspended in mid air. Reaching to touch it, the face of the slab blinked and all of a sudden, she saw the boys. The boys were looking to her, in what seemed to be an engaging conversation. However, not a sound was to be heard.**

 **"H-hey!" shouted Blossom. "Brick, Boomer, Butch! Guys! Can you hear me?"**

 **She waved her hands about, tapped and patted at the cold surface of the frame. What the heck was going on? It was like watching television. A pair of hands. They opened up a pack of Marlboro and flicked a lighter, bringing it up to the screen then out of her sight.**

 **"I'm smoking? You're making me smoke?! Stop it, Berserk!"**

 **She slammed herself against the frame in an effort to break through. Was this what Berserk had endured these past years? This place. All alone. With nothing but a screen.**

* * *

While the brothers were confounded by the profanities erupting from the 'now-controlling' punk's lips, Brick glanced down at the rails for a second, noticing Blossom was acting out of the ordinary. She was now more bossy, demanding, confident and threatening. Brick's eyes bulged, seeing his female counterpart slam her fists up against the reflection desperately, helplessly. She was attempting to speak, her mouth wide and moving quick with pleas in the reflection. His eyes returned to the girl standing before him and saw her eyes washed with an angry red, as she allowed toxic puffs to escape her lips, forming 'O's' that fell one by one into nothing.

A spontaneous motion occurred. No one knew why. Brick didn't know. He didn't know why he cared, but he did and he delivered a sharp blow to the punk's jaw, knocking her off her feet.

* * *

Blossom murmured in agony, rubbing her temples, whilst listening to the raging chat that emerged from the boys. Sitting up she blinked, looking around her, thankful she was back in her world. Checking to see that Berserk was still in her reflection, she couldn't help but pump her fist in the air in triumph, seeing the thug, sneering in the rail once again. She also produced a chesty cough, the freshly lit cigarette sat by the rail. Warily, the bookworm picked it up, inspecting it and reluctantly placing in back to her lips. The taste was bitter, unbearable. She couldn't for the life of her understand why it was addictive. To play it cool and not raise suspicion from Boomer and Butch, she let it just hang in her mouth, not taking further takes.

"Back on your feet, huh?" mused Butch, watching her cautiously.

"W-what happened?" whined the poor puff, adjusting herself.

"Bozo over here needed a reality check and thought the bullshit coming from your mouth was too good to be true" he sighed, nudging an unstable Brick.

"It wasn't her!" he stated, losing his grip a bit.

"Ain't you supposed to fucking pinch YOURSELF when it's too good to be true?" queried Butch, folding his arms.

The nerd felt a wash of shame come over, seeing that Berserk had taken the liberty, having taken control of her body, to educate the fellow delinquents on proper use of profanity. She was teaching them swear words... Had she suggested anything good for them to write?

"Show me watcha got" declared the puff, folding her arms.

"Huh? Wazzat?" mumbled the blonde dumbly.

"I inspired you, gave you suggestions. Gimme something, NOW!" she growled, shaking a fist at them.

The lads were completely puzzled, unsure where this attitude, this whole new Blossom was coming from, but they liked it. They nodded to each other and they shot off along the tracks, miles long and spread massive fogs of paints along the bland layout. Like an impending avalanche, the paint came about in a form of mist that gradually thickened and seeped through every crack penetrable.

As the mist drifted away, it exposed a gallery of some of the most raunchy things ever to be seen. Boomer had done some decent work, replicating oriental dragons along with some text. Typical phallic symbolism also stained the brick work in a predictable fashion, sided with drawings of guns and planes and would certainly be a sight for sore eyes. It was humorous, distasteful. It was perfect and put the other artists in Townsville to shame. She walked along, as if the tracks had become a red carpet, and surveyed her work, carried out by her henchmen. Henchmen? She liked that, very much.

"Have we humored you, your highness?" panted Boomer, slowly descending from his floating stance and going to lay on the gravel and muck.

"Very much so. Although, it's a shame you hide your work" Blossom said, brushing off her denim. She flicked back her ponytail, running her fingers through it in some re-discovered hints of vanity. Berserk was getting to her and, in turn, SHE was getting to the Rowdyruff Boys.

"Hide it?" cracked Butch's voice.

"Yes. You should take this work into Townsville, where everyone can see it. I'd love to see the citizens reactions. Then you can be revered as REAL artists".

Brick was chuffed, flattered by her remarks, but shook it off, suspecting maybe Berserk was still inside her head.

"What's it to you what we do? Why do you suddenly wanna do bad stuff?" he instigated, pointing at Blossom. All he knew of her was that this would be the last place she'd ever want to be in. She wasn't some badass. She was no Bad Girl. Dear, these boys certainly were young weren't they? Of course they hadn't seen her at her worst.

"Oh, Brick, I'd been stealing Golf clubs, breaking out of prison and influencing methods for robbery before you were constructed by that stinky-ass monkey in his jail cell"

 **END OF PART EIGHT**


	9. You're just like them

All the two puffs could think of in that time was to search over the enormous abomination for 'weak spots'. Scanning the Behemoth was like examining the equator of a newly found dwarf planet. The beast was patient, curious of the mortal underlings that studied his formation. They could never comprehend his means of existence or for how long he had dwelt in the earth, slumbering at the planet's core. He looked to them, like they were blue bottles, buzzing around him in search of a source that would heed their attraction. His tongue slouched on the tarmac, leading the beast to sit himself down, engulfing the park almost with his massive behind. His eyes were calm and for a moment he paused to watch the fascinating earthlings that possessed some form of superiority to the citizens he was so used to smelling and hearing. The Powerpuff Girls:he was fascinated with them.

"How come he's not attacking us?" peeped Bubbles, flying up, not to far from the monster's eyes. Buttercup zipped up to meet her.

"I dunno. I imagine when we start attacking, he won't hold back what he's got"

"I can't make heads or tails of any vulnerable spots"

"Maybe it's his eyes" Buttercup pondered, overlooking the creature, who squatted and stared at them intently.

 _"WHY HAVE YOU SURRENDERED YOUR SUPERIOR STATUS TO THE UNDESERVED MERCY OF THESE HUMANS?"_ droned the being. His voice like the grinding and whine of industrial metals. He was almost pained to see them bow to weaker beings, as Lucifer was made to.

"Superior?" asked the blonde, not at all bothered by the loud exclamations, that were strong enough to uproot the trees.

Buttercup pushed herself in front of her sister, defensively. "It's our duty" she explained. All she could think of was what Blossom would say or do in the situation. Of course she'd take the logical route. The peaceful route. A bargain of sorts.

 _"YOU'RE EXISTENCE HINGES ON PROTECTING WEAK HUMANS? FOR WHAT PURPOSE? WHAT CAN THESE INSOLENT SOULS GRANT YOU WHEN THEY ARE INCAPABLE OF GIVING THEMSELVES A SLITHER OF PARADISE WHICH IS SO EASY TO OBTAIN, BE IT NOT FOR THEIR STRIVING GREED? SURELY YOU MUST SEE YOU DESERVE BETTER"_

Borderline manipulation. Buttercup could smell it a mile off. "We aren't doing it for praise, money or promise of fortune. We do it out of love"

Bubbles smiled at her siblings attempts at keeping her cool. Maybe the creature was just naive.

 _"LOVE?"_

"Yes"

 _"DO YOU LOVE THESE PEOPLE AS YOU WOULD YOUR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS? OR DO YOU LOVE THEM, EACH AND EVERY ONE, IN A MANNER WHICH IS BIOLOGICALLY FIXATED?"_

The tomboy shuddered. "Eww, gross. More so the first one"

"Buttercup!" cried Bubbles, pushing her out of the way. "Look, mister. We care about these people a whole lot and we know deep down they would do anything for us. We want to maintain peace in this town so we can all be happy"

 _"YOU YEARN FOR ACCEPTANCE FROM A RACE WHICH IS DETERMINED TO ELIMINATE AND CAUSE SUFFERING UPON ITSELF AND THE VERY PLANET? I CANNOT UNDERSTAND"_

Far below, horrified eyes found the distant discussion. Many citizens crept out from their hiding areas to look upon the spectacle. Watching their fellow heroes interact with the Cthulhu like entity was jarring. The clouds above swerved and swirled into an ugly pool of blacks and reds. A gust of wind swept through, the world ready to rid itself of the plague of humanity.

"Mister, we know people aren't perfect, but we have to give them a chance. People make mistakes, but they try to learn from them, so they can be better people"

 _"THE FACT YOU ARE KEEPING THE TITLE AS 'PROTECTORS' OF THE CITY AFTER SO LONG SHOWS HOW LITTLE INFLUENCE YOU TRULY HAVE. IF THESE MORTALS, CRIMINALS, DID LEARN OF THEIR MISTAKES, WHY ARE THEY STILL YOUR CONCERN? THE JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS FAILED YOU AND THEM. FROM EXTERIOR THREATS I MAY UNDERSTAND, BEINGS SUCH AS MYSELF INVADING YOUR LAND, CAUSING MAYHEM BECAUSE THEY CAN, BUT CAN'T YOU SEE YOUR JUST SHIELDING ONE BEAST FROM THE OTHER? WHY BOTHER BEING PART OF THE EQUATION AT ALL?"_

"Because..."

 _"WHY NOT LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE?"_

Buttercup was seething, gritting her teeth, she sprang forth, towards the Behemoth "Because we say so!"

 _"YOU'RE JUST LIKE THEM..."_

The crowds stood, baffled, as the girls attempted at all costs to find a weak spot. Buttercup shot forth her fists, pummeling into the stone-like, stubborn skin of the monster. Bubbles aimed all around with her lasers, beams of heat scanning over flesh, with no result. The tomboy threw herself at the snail eyes emerging from it's chest and proceeded to pull. A nerve struck and the trunk reached forth and snatched her. Bringing her back up to eye-level, the being squinted, it's third eye illuminating, sucking and absorbing traces of energy it found around it. The glow grew and grew, brighter and brighter, all the while, Buttercup struggling to free herself from the elephant-headed being's restraint. A flash, and a stinging pierce of light, sent the captured girl into a frenzy of agonizing screams.

Bubbles wailed "BUTTERCUP!"

* * *

Racing along the train tracks, the four shared sincere chuckles. Now on their way to find Mojo, the redheaded nerd smiled in content. Acting like the boss gave her kicks. The boys could pummel her into dust if they wanted, but now seeing them be at her mercy like this was rejuvenating. After announcing her past involvement with crime, a tidal wave of questions ambushed her. They asked about the clubs. If she was turned in or captured. They asked how she was manipulative at some stages, getting people to do what she wanted. She gave them a run down on robbing, Boomer eagerly wanting to go on a heist with her.

It felt good.

It felt good to be honest and it felt good not having to feel sorry. She wanted to be a bitch sometimes and she accepted that. She enjoyed seeing people suffer. There was a surge of pride and power that escalated within her and found, at any moment she wanted, Townsville could be hers for the taking. She re-called for a moment the instance where Princess Morbucks was Mayor, pushing for the 'Crime is Legal' bullshit. Although she hated her guts, she felt that maybe she was really onto something. Let humanity destroy itself. It was already doing a good enough job of it anyway, why not just free the raging mutt of self-destruction from its leash and see the job over and done with? It'd be like ripping off a plaster.

She knew how it felt to be a villain, to be someone with criminal tendencies. Was this how they felt, the Rowdyruff boys?

"Any of you guys ever feel like taking over? You know, to hell with everyone else, total anarchy?" she pondered aloud. Butch flinched, still unsure whether or not this was all a set up. They'd sent in Bubbles before to be undercover as Boomer. Why would this be any different?

"Nah" Boomer responded, shrugging a bit as they flew.

"Agreed" grunted Brick. "You can't just take shit over. What fun is there in that?"

Butch slid in "It'd be like destroying something. Once it's gone, it's gone. There's nothing left. Nothing left for you"

Blossom nodded "Oh. So, Townsville is there because you LET it be there?"

"Yeah, exactly" Brick grinned. "The game would be over if you took it out in one shot. We wanna savor it. There's people to take advantage of, stuff to bust up... When everything's there, there's no limits. To see nothing there you'd have to be totally stupid or have a lack of imagination or something"

"Yeah, destroying everything would be totally stupid" said Boomer.

"Absolutely" confirmed Butch.

Everyone came to an abrupt halt, looking up to see the Behemoth, towering over Townsville. A part of Blossom's old self struck right back into place and her cigarette fell from her lips and onto the ground. Buttercup and Blossom we're being swatted out of the air, like pestering wasps at a picnic, slamming through buildings, whilst the town was upheld in a apocalyptic panic.

"What the hell is that thing?" shrieked Boomer, cowering under his own arms.

"C'mon, we gotta get to Mojo's" said Brick.

Blossom was cemented to the ground. Unsure what to do, her sisters screamed, called out her name, as did an impatient Brick and the Berserk from beneath, urging her to leg it before she got crushed.

 **END OF PART NINE**


	10. What must be, be

Across from the table sat the chimp, a black eye lazily seated in his skull, painfully, after the confrontation with the boys, who floated loyally by the rebel Powerpuff. The enormous room was barely lit and the evading moonlight from the surrounding windows only just faintly made out the outline of Mojo's lair. Everything was a stain of gray, light blues, whites and blacks. Blossom, after having witnessed the struggle of her sisters, found that it was indeed time to take what she had learned of herself to the ultimate test. In the many windows, there was a glistening hint of Berserk, arms folded, gazing in delight at the monster that her goody-two-shoed counterpart finally was becoming.

"My, my" mused Mojo, a smile growing on his thin lips. "How the mighty hath fallen. And to think it would be the Powerpuff who demonstrated the utmost morality and leadership of the three. Pardon me if I cannot contain my joy at this sight"

"On the contrary" addressed Blossom, her voice having become husky somewhat, dark and threatening, matching the hanging atmosphere. "I have not fallen. I have ascended higher, and your implication that you were in any way at level or above me shows how little you understand of the situation. I have been graced by a mentality that has shown me freedom, an awareness of who and what I am to myself and those that surround me. My chains are broken and now you will see that I am not to be mocked or to be sympathized for. You will be naive not to fear what I am, Mojo".

The dark-haired chimp blinked, astonished. This was all some joke, right? She barely even sounded like herself anymore. When Blossom moved her lips, it was in time with the sinister doppelganger who lingered not too far away. "Dare I ask of the intrusion into my lair? In these Armageddon-like times, I seek refuge in the underground bunker, which I have constructed way beneath the surface of the earth"

"I am in need of your assistance"

"How so?"

"There is a part of me that needs to re-surface, to find itself into this world, but it cannot. I need you to bring that aspect out from it's limbo-like realm so that the final segment in my re-discovery can be accomplished and I can save Townsville from the governing Behemoth"

Mojo tapped the side of the table, cocking a brow and glancing outside. "Can't it wait?"

"It's urgent and it's vitality beyond your comprehension"

"I don't know whether to be insulted or humored by that statement" murmured the villain, slouching in his chair, staring down the 12 year old.

Something was definitely not right. The awkward silence gave time for the chimp to inspect what he could from his distance and he saw that there gleamed an unfamiliar hue in the eyes of the bookworm. A colour which appeared to scream, unlike the usual calm, peaceful pink that often resided in them.

"...Who are you?" he finally cooed, rubbing his wrists somewhat distractedly. A comfort. If this wasn't who he had previously predicted, there was indeed something to be feared.

"I am a shadow" she responded truthfully. "I am a nature of Blossom which has been withheld for too long from the surface. I go by the name of Berserk, and I am from an alternate reality, in which myself and my sisters spread terror throughout our own civilization. Jomo momo is a nemesis whose efforts to stop us have always come crashing down, in the same way you fail to destroy the Powerpuff Girls. He is a pathetic being that clearly has no understanding of his place in OUR world, in the same way you have little understanding of your place in THEIRS"

"You think the Powerpuff Girls RULE Townsville?" he asked, his voice coming out like a slither, as beads of sweat ran from his wrinkled forehead. His intimidation was becoming clear to the puff, who allowed a smug smirk to engulf her features.

"I know they do... and you do too".

* * *

The screams had become a sea and the Powerpuff Girl's heads were swimming in them. Mass evacuations were in order and the Professor stood outside his home in horror, watching the creature lay waste to the destined dystopia, previously known as the City of Townsville.

" _LET ME CARRY OUT MY DUTIES. ALLOW FOR ME TO PROCEED IN MY TASK AND I SHALL SET YOU FREE"_ groaned the beast to the girls, buried deep in the roads from their previously failed attacks. However, the two launched themselves up, crumbling tarmac falling from them, and they shot up to the colossal being in rage.

"You cannot destroy Townsville!" declared Buttercup, smacking her fists together, igniting an awful blast that aimed directly for the monster's eyes.

It shrieked and swiped out its clawed hands in the air, it's previously emotion rid state now injected with an adrenaline that sent him crazy.

 _"YOU'LL MAKE THINGS WORSE FOR YOURSELVES. FOR EVERYONE. LET WHAT MUST BE BE"_

Whipping it's giant tongue back into its gut, the protruding snail eyes wriggled and the jaws from which the tongue emerged spread, displaying an ugly row of fangs. A loud scream sounded and wave upon wave sent the girls flying back. Crashing once again.

* * *

"Criminey!" growled Mojo, seeing his precious table splintered by the impact of the heroes. "Can't I have anything dear in this god-forsaken town?"

"Blossom!" the puffs cried in unison, seeing their sister seated in the dark. Rising into mid air, they made out the shadows of the Rowdyruff Boys, hovering nearby. Instantly, Buttercup prepared a ball of electricity in her palms, it's green aura radiating from the charge.

"Wait!" shouted Blossom, standing between them, her eyes having returned to their sweet pink state.

"You've taken our sister hostage! I'll fry you all where you stand!" hissed the tomboy.

"They haven't. I've taken THEM hostage!"

The charge died and diffused with a cute hiss, and Buttercup's scrunched, fury fueled features melted into that of confusion and shock.

"W-what... wh-... what's going on?" Muttered Bubbles.

"Beats me" shrugged Boomer. "We've just been going along with it"

"Yes" the chimp drew out with emphasis. "I believe your sister was going to spell it all out, lay me instruction, before you came crashing through my roof and into my lair"

They all stared at her with a grating silence. With the gnawing of the quiet, Blossom sighed. "I need to free someone"

"Free someone?" Buttercup parroted, flying over, along with Bubbles, to their leader. "Where?"

"In a mirror"

"A mirror? What?"

Brick stepped in, hoping he could add to the scenario "You see, Blossom has this person who's been basically stalking her, in her reflection. She doesn't see herself there anymore, it's someone else and I know. I've seen her. She freaking fried the heck outta me and tormented me. I doubt anybody else can see her for some reason, but Blossom's been seeing this bitch for years and she just wants to exorcise her from the mirror so she can live normally again"

After the explanation, people couldn't get their heads around it and their faces of disbelief could be read as clear as day.

"The thing is, I don't know if I even feel I SHOULD free her. I don't know if I completely trust her and she could just make things worse" the nerd whimpered, feeling everything come about so quickly. This whole thing, this confrontation, seemed so premature. She wasn't ready for any of this.

Buttercup zipped up to Blossom's reflection in a nearby mirror, clearly not Berserk, and started hitting the thick, re-enforced glass. "Take that! And that! And that!"

Blossom facepalmed, shaking her head, as all she could see was Berserk cracking up at the sight of Buttercup just smacking the frame in a poor attempt to find some vengeance for her tormented sister. "Buttercup, you don't understand..."

"This whole thing sounds ludicrous!" snapped Mojo in frustration. "Are you quite done with your joke?"

The leader spun round to face everyone "It's not a joke, I swear!"

"What do we do then?"

"I don't..." she started, finding her voice cracking, tears building up. This was all crazy. She really felt like she was losing her mind. Was this all Berserk? Did she stay true to her word, saying she'd drive her insane?

Brick frowned, seeing his counterpart crumble and swept Mojo high up off the ground, alarming the chimp who started to writhe and yell in panic. "Look, dickhead, you're gonna make a machine that extracts that evil doppelganger from the mirror, once and for all! If you don't, I'll throw you into the mouth of that bastard that's eating the city"

"If you and Blossom are the only one's who can see this person, how the heck am I gonna be able to extract them?" he squeaked desperately.

"Aim for what you see, ya damn moron!"

"How do you propose I do this? Shooting a laser at a damn mirror or something?"

"I don't care!" he roared. "Figure it out or you're monster chow!" And with that, he threw him down into the floor, furiously.

 **END OF PART TEN**

(Hello again, people. I may be revisiting this story when I'm done to clean some stuff up and add bits. We're coming close to the end of the story I'll have to say unfortunately. If there's something you'd like to recommend story-wise or if something doesn't make sense or you're just flat out confused, tell me. The last thing I want is for my readers to not get what the heck is going on. Also, I know not much is happening recently 'romance-wise' with Blossom and Berserk, but there will be some cute fluff soon, particularly in the ending. Until then, I'll post again soon. Bye!)


	11. It's okay to be an asshole

As Mojo jojo worked at his machine, mapping out his theories for the transferring, the Powerpuff Girls resumed battle with the behemoth looming over the city. Bit by bit, the architecture was being chipped, burnt and shredded. The Mayor and Miss Bellum had been advised by law enforcement to evacuate immediately. For once, the citizens of Townsville felt they would be seeing the very last of their homes, the places where they had built and harbored their most cherished dreams. Hopes were crushed and fear raised to the heavens, as they felt that not even their most trusted heroes could save them tonight.

It was those very sounds of despair that called out and was heard by a certain someone. It was the force that would never perish, no matter the actions and perceptions deemed against it. A force; a concept materialized, personified into the most abhorrent entity that the universe could muster. A testament to the evident evil that mankind could harvest from the deepest, darkest recesses of their history and present doings on Earth. No name could honor it or disgrace it far enough. All anyone could manage to describe the insidious creature was... 'HIM'.

HIM watched the demolition of Townsville in an excited awe. Lounged casually with his fluffy scarf on his couch, he felt a tingle of hope for the total annihilation of the population he had long to destroy himself. He hadn't the faintest clue where this monster had come from, but he had a gut feeling, this creature was sure to put the despicable community in it's grave.

"Ooooh, the towns people are bleeding out in a blind panic, as the cancerous City finally takes it destined fall" exclaimed the devilish being delightfully. " **AND IT'S ABOUT FREAKING TIME!** Alas, I wish I could have done the duty myself. I was so sure that I would one day enslave the city myself and become the conqueror of mankind" he whined weakly, flinging his wrist about at the self proclaimed title he wished he would have one day.

Looking upon the screen, watching the actions of the dedicated girls as they took to the abysmal creature, the crimson imp couldn't help but notice how the leader was distracted, taking constant glances into the falling and cracked shards of mirror in the office buildings.

"My, my Blossom" he mused with a chuckle. "Bit of a poor time to be vain, don't you think?"

Continuing to watch the chaos, a detail snapped him to attention. Flicking his wrist, he caused for the footage to pause and rewind and then, snipping his claws, to proceed along, frame by frame, he found that where the reflection of the bookworm ought to be was an angry, fight-thirsty punk alteration.

"What... is THIS?..." he grinned, his teeth cracking into jagged fangs in his jaws. "Could I perhaps be able to have a hand in this after all? Could I leave my mark and put the final nail in Townsville's coffin?"

* * *

The efforts came about to causing zero effect. There wasn't any profound logic to taking down the beast and time and time again, it lunged out it's fist and slammed the girls through the buildings and back into the concrete and dust. Soon after, the building's supports severed and the gigantic mass of metal and glass came crashing down, spreading further waves of dust along Townsville. With the cries of the people dimming, having had them be instructed to escort themselves as far as possible from the scene, the girl's could plainly make out that this could indeed be the City's final heartbeats.

Returning to Mojo's lair, they saw that that he was nearing completion of his ground breaking achievement. This machine, if operating accordingly, could result in a break-through in science itself.

"You done yet, pops?" grumbled Brick.

"Shut up! Just shut up! I'm already at my breaking point knowing any second I could be dead with that THING getting closer!" he screamed, throwing a heavy wrench at the boys.

"Pete sake, okay, you sack of crap!"

Buttercup ruffled her hair, ridding herself of hugging fragments of tarmac "Are you certain that this person is gonna help us, Blossom?"

"No" she admitted clearly. "That's the thing, I don't. It's a theory"

"What? What theory?"

"The idea is that I formulate an attack which is influenced by two alternate sources"

"You got that!" Buttercup stated. "Me and Bubbles".

"No, that's not it. The whole point of why I was away was because I was coming to terms with myself. In so doing, I discovered the Individuation Process. At first, I thought it was all just about finding myself as a person, but Berserk has been a real teacher to me and taught me something else. With myself as the Persona/Ego, Berserk being my shadow and Brick being my Animus, I may be able to reveal another aspect of our capabilities. That being if we work together there can be this ultimate power that may be powerful enough to destroy this creature"

"For real?" grunted the redhead lad, drifting over into the conversation.

"Like I said, it's a theory"

"So, it involves you fighting with Brick and Berserk instead of us?" Buttercup said, scratching her head. All these new names and ideas were making her head hurt.

"No, we all have to fight together! The Powerpuffs, the boys and Berserk"

"Well, what if she turns out to be a bitch and gives you the middle finger? Then what?" snipped Butch, arms folded.

Sighing, Blossom looked to the window, glimpsing at the punk who was becoming all the more eager to get out and into their world, banging and hitting against the frame. "Then we'll have to think of a plan B"

"Plan B is MY word!" Buttercup declared, hitting her chest, like some ape. "And I say we find a way to destroy it at all costs, no matter what it takes!"

"I agree" softly added Bubbles. "We've tried talking to it and it's... it just wants to kill everybody!" she wept, covering her eyes.

"We can't reason with it on any level. It's like it believes its part of a prophecy or just some unbudging part of nature that has to occur"

"Right, the machine is done!" announced the chimp, slapping closed a panel and rubbing his hands clean of oil.

* * *

Everybody stood back and away from the laser. Perched up upon a fat stand, wires wound about the frame, connecting to bubbling containers and blinking lights, the nuzzle directed it's aim towards the Powerpuff, standing a good distance from a standing mirror.

"This better work" said Brick, more out of sincere hope than some threat.

"I can't make any promises" confessed Mojo gently, focusing on the strength of shot and adjusting minor details.

As the laser was preparing, Blossom turned to look at Berserk. The bookworm gulped, uneasy, beads of sweat running from her head. She was willing to do anything to save the City, to save everyone, even if it meant going along with a promise from someone she probably would have originally made a doubt about in the beginning. Berserk wasn't literally a shadow, but there was no denying she represented a part of herself she long denied and hid away. She thought hard, thinking what she would do in Berserk's shoes. She couldn't blame herself for what she was thinking. Immediately, images and thoughts rushed through her mind, like a series of flashbacks.

* * *

 _"This is a stick up!" Blossom shouted, her facial features blurred by the hue of her stocking mask. "Everybody down!"_

 _The bankers looked to the Powerpuff in disbelief and shock._

 _"I SAID DOWN!" she repeated, projecting rays from her eyes, sending a line of fire up into the wall behind the men and women._

 _"Now fork over the dough!"_

* * *

Her own voice, although she knew it belonged to her, sounded so detached. She didn't recognize herself. Although she was acting, a part of her wanted to take off with all that money. A knot tied deep into her stomach. She felt sick.

* * *

 _Her heart pounded like a drum, her palms tingly, she was paralyzed with fear, as her family stared her down. Her grip tightened around Mojo and she shook. There was no real guilt. However, there was shame... shame she'd been caught, the hole in her story pointed out. She was angry at herself for not getting away with it._

 _"Just tell the truth, Blossom" The Professor said desperately, behind bars. "Please..."_

 _With her teeth chattering, adrenaline coursing through her veins, she roared, throwing the tied up bundle of a monkey at her sisters, obstructing her chances of escape from the jail._

* * *

Her hands clamped around her head, as if trying to cage what she was seeing from being seen by anyone else. Her knees visibly trembled, knocking together and she whimpered, overcome by the memories. Berserk blinked, looking over at her counterpart in genuine concern.

* * *

 _She knew what she felt, what she did back then, was wrong. With the pent up emotions, building up upon one another, reality melted away and she visualized herself in a courtroom at a trial, being convicted of these atrocities. Looking around she saw only... herself. Duplicates of herself, frowning at her._

 _"...I...I'm not perfect. But, I try to do better and that's what matters. That's what counts. These memories... these times... they're lessons" she said, looking up at a version of herself, holding a judge's gavel. The room was dark, with only herself held under a spot light._

 _She chuckled to herself, a means of comforting herself from all the judgemental gazes "But, you know what? If I really was perfect, I wouldn't learn anything. And, I love to learn. And... life would just seem so... flat"_

 _The multiple Blossoms cocked their heads and turned to look at each other in wonder._

 _"I wouldn't know how to really feel ANYTHING. Appreciation, comfort, love. If life was perfect, such feelings would be totally taken for granted, until I wouldn't feel much of anything anymore. Nothing would feel special"_

 _The Blossom's nodded in agreement._

 _"But" opposed the judge, "Life wouldn't seem so easy, would it?"_

 _"Since when is life supposed to be easy? I mean, yeah, there are things that are literally reaching out to hurt me, but that doesn't mean I should just regard the world as some antagonizing entity. If I really wanted to live a life of merely comfort and that's all I cared about, I'd have to sacrifice so much that's important for that. We have to hurt, to be questioned and be challenged, it makes us stronger and ready for more along the way in life. No real joy could be had if life was easy. Nothing would seem real"_

 _The conversation between numerous Blossom's now divided. Some agreed, some didn't. She couldn't even wholly agree with herself? What was this madness?_

 _"What of the times where you WEREN'T perfect intentionally? Where you manipulated the Professor to bring you toys, how you senselessly beat Mojo just because you couldn't have a little piece of candy? How about-" The judge rambled on, provocatively, with results. The bookworm burst._

 _"Yeah, well, you know what? I don't care! I enjoy being an asshole sometimes! I know it's not right, but I'm not some saint, okay? I enjoy every minute of it. Heck, maybe I'll go set something on fire at the dump later if I feel like it. The thing is I shouldn't have to conform to the concept of some unobtainable perfection. That's right, unobtainable! Perfection is an idea! It doesn't exist!"_

 _A slight grin of delight found her lips, as she heard an anxiety-ridden version of herself behind her scream in horror at her words._

 _"Look, I live my life the way I see fit. I don't deliberately go out to try and hurt people, heck, the majority of the time I'm trying to protect people. If I do end up hurting someone, for the most part, other than those occasions I admit I went too far, they deserve it. And I love every minute of it, giving those damn bad-guys what they deserve before they're shut in the slammer. I shouldn't enjoy it and people will think I'm sick because of it, but the truth is, they probably want an outlet just as bad as I do. I'm still just a kid, having been built up for so long in a position where I'm loaded with big responsibilities and I'm looking for kicks and fun, to let out steam. That's what I did when I was spraying cans with the Rowdyruff Boys and ordering them around. It's what I did when I was dancing with my shadow at the Junk yard. Is wanting to be bad sometimes so wrong?"_

 _After the long winded speech, it was absolutely silent. The judge leaned forward, the spotlight above the bookworm causing an eeriey range of shadows to mask a sinister grin. Blossom's heart sank._

 _"Well, why don't you see for yourself?"_

* * *

With that, the entire scene shimmered and rippled, fading from sight, leaving Blossom staring at Berserk, who stared back at her, cracking her knuckles. The laser charged, aimed and fired.

 ** _END OF PART ELEVEN_**

 _(This chapter may be edited, since I think there are things I may be repeating that'll come off as annoying to me readers. Once again, if any of my readers are finding themselves lost, PLEASE point out if I'm not making sense, as it'll help me to fix my writing and get better. Thanks again and will post again soon)_


	12. Acceptance

_(Warning: Soppiness and cutesyness later in this chapter) ^-^_

A force of habit, Blossom tensed at the sensation of the laser, only to find it was not functioning as a means to attack her. Mojo was indeed obliging with the task. Seeing however that his life would be in peril had he not done as instructed, regardless of the Rowdyruff Boys intimidating him, she felt it made sense. Although she still felt it odd to be on the receiving end of one of his master works without feeling so much as a touch of pain. With that, she turned to see what was happening with her Doppelganger.

Berserk bared her teeth, exposing her cute, stubby fangs, as she shielded her eyes from the blinding light. She reached out to feel the frame. Gripping onto the frame's perimeter, she slowly inched her way forward. She'd become hypersensitive to everything she now felt and heard. The sound of Blossom's breathing, anxious, anticipating some range of attack. Blossom's voice... she swore she could even feel it. Her chest inflated with hope and... relief. Happiness. She could FEEL Blossom's voice, her timid breath a comfort to her, like some re-assurance and the RowdyRuff Boys gawped in amazement, seeing this stranger emerge from the solid barrier of the mirror.

"Unbelievable" Mojo muttered, more flabbergasted than the sisters, who held themselves in horror and amazement at the approaching Doppelganger from the mirror.

The bookworm gasped, watching her shadow finally make it's way into the world. Berserk's movements were cautious, let steady, still covering her eyes. Blossom stepped back, her gut squirming, like it was infested with maggots and worms. It was a pleasant, yet unpleasant feeling. She was thrilled, but also afraid, of what was to come. Finally, the double extracted the last part of her, completely setting foot in the world.

The monkey killed the shot and the raging noises from the machinery wound down into a low grumble, until it was gone. Very slowly, Berserk lowered her hands and stared all around her. She was finally free.

In attempts to break the tense quietness, Blossom offered her a hand of greeting, smirking "Took you long enough, ya damn bitch"

Mojo thumped his chest triumphantly "YES! YES! YEEEES! I am genius! I have paved another stepping stone into my future endeavors! What opportunities will arise from this knowledge!"

His cheering and celebration came to a halt, seeing the emerged punk shoot out a laser at the welcoming leader, who flew back with the force and crashed into a tiled wall. Bubbles and Buttercup gasped.

"Okay, guys!" growled Buttercup, preparing to throw herself at the devilish double. "Plan B. Let's take this sucker out fir-"

Her proclamation was interrupted, as an adorable, heartfelt giggle floated in the air, coming from Blossom. Grinning deviously, she fired back at the grinning delinquent doppelganger.

"Nice house-warming gift" she snipped.

The gang were in dumbstruck, watching the previously known leader, who was passive, peaceful, sensible, engage in roughhousing with her double excitedly.

* * *

Mojo was not in the least bit bought by the thanks that Blossom delivered, as she hugged him tightly. With the Ruffs and Puffs together, she said it was like some strange family re-union. The Puffs, Punk and Ruffs ascended high into the air, looking over the severe damage that lay waste at the hands of the Behemoth.

"So much for wanting to leave the mirror in a hurry" humored Berserk. "There's nothing left for me to destroy"

"That gives us such high hopes for you" grunted Buttercup, un-amused by her disturbing revelation.

"Guys, focus!" Blossom said. "What we need to do is show the behemoth into a relatively open area"

Brick replied cockily "Well, he's certainly flattened enough of the city to call it a space"

"The sea?" suggested Boomer.

Blossom smiled "Exactly! We need to lure him out as far as we can away from Townsville. We can't perform the planned attack here. It would decimate everything in sight"

Buttercup affirmed "Got it!"

"Okay, everyone, we haven't a moment to lose! Let's finish this bastard!" Blossom declared, beating her clenched fists together.

Pumped by the raw tactic and bad-ass attitude, everyone eagerly sped off on their duties. Blossom, Brick and Berserk launched higher up into the atmosphere, so to be masked by the dark concoction of the clouds. It was as if the sky was brewing up the finishing strike for Townsville, a strike, Blossom knew, would never come.

The blues and greens teamed according to their counterparts and parted, approaching the behemoth from opposite sides so as to take him by surprise. Speeding through the demolition that burned and fell all around them, a rush escalated in all four of them. Approaching from his sides quickly, boy and girl, they mixed their energies fueled in their fists, formulating massive balls of electricity and fire. Having it concentrated, rich with their power, they beat the ball up like in a game of Volleyball and the empowered ammo flung at the behemoth's face, resulting in an enraged scream. The eyes stretched out from it's chest and the boys took no time in snatching the eyes by the retina and ripping out the elongated organs from their places. The beast erected its trunk and trumpeted in fury. Having got the behemoth's attention, they made for the ocean, where the reds waited.

* * *

Up on the clouds, Brick overlooked the spectacle. "That's mah boys! C'mon! Hurry up!" he cried eagerly.

Further along, on the designated projection spot, Berserk lingered with Blossom. "Everything seems to be going accordingly. We'll be done with this creep in no time"

The punk cackled, swooping in circles in excitement. "Awesome. I can't wait to blast that sucker into pieces!"

"Yeah, and we'll save all the citizens of Townsville"

The delinquent double stopped and looked to the bookworm, her energetic outburst diminishing at that sentence. She rolled her eyes, not particularly phased at what would be the impending fate of the citizens, who stood quivering and stupefied by the Armageddon-like spectacle. "Huh? Oh yeah, sure"

Picking up the feign intrigue, Blossom turned to face her floating doppelgänger. "What is it?"

"Well, how do I put this?… I don't really give a fuck what happens to the people of Townsville, okay?"

"Wh-what!? Berserk, how can you say that?" gawked the nerd, flying over, confrontational.

The punk shrugged " Just telling it as it is. Look, those Rowdyruff _ballsacks_ can preach how much they want about how humanity's some tool for them to be able to take advantage of shit. Yeah, I subscribe to that, so if that's the case, why care about the people at all? It's not like this location is anywhere off the map. People will come, re-populate, rebuild and it'll start all over again"

Blossom felt a coiled serpent writhe strongly deep in her chest, her eye twitched, some repressed anger surfacing. She couldn't understand how Berserk's mentality could be so disconnected. It was downright frightening "Do you have a clue of how psychopathic you sound right now?" she whispered.

"None of my concern, babe. Besides, you know damn well this happens a lot everywhere and always has. It's humanity for you: build something up, break it back down, etc. It's a way of life for them. The ouroboros, an infinite loop"

"You can't possibly say- Y-you… There's a line between not caring and not giving a flying fuck" cried Blossom, pulling at her bow angrily. Her teeth bore and she felt any moment she would burst.

"You know what, cool it, egghead" Berserk suggested calmly, stretching her arms in weariness. The girls had been out and up all night. "I'm helping you out, aren't I? You should be grateful. If anything, if I paused for a second about the situation, I'd just take off and leave everyone else to suffer"

"My… fucking… GOD. So I should just kiss your ass for doing us a big fat favour, right?" snarled Blossom, ready to snap.

"Steady, sweetie" urged the punk, her ribbon drifting over to stroke along her cheek teasingly. "Yeah, I said I'd leave any time, but I won't"

"'Cus of how badly you wanna vent some pent up adrenaline on this behemoth?"

"No, because of you" she confirmed softly, her face serious.

Blossom chuckled, clearly losing her mind a bit over how much of a monster Berserk was making herself out to really be. "Oh, of course, some contract. You probably feel like you're indebted to me after getting you out of that limbo, when maybe I should have paused and had a moment of doubt myself, let you just rot in there forever!"

The ribbons fired towards the puff and grabbed her wrists tightly, whipping her over to the punk, who stared her down with a fixated, stern gaze. Instead of expecting the blunt impact with what would have previously been a mirror, she collided with Berserk's body. The punk restrained her, just inches away from herself and the nerd's struggles became fainter and fainter, her eyes locking with the strong, fiery hues of Berserk. Her pretty bow drooped and fell back against her gorgeous locks and her eyes shimmered, somehow feeling helpless under her double's stare. A warm blush found the punk's cheeks, being able to feel the soothing, warm breath of Blossom just a step away from her. Instantly, her arms seized the confused bookworm.

Berserk whispered through clenched teeth, burying her face in Blossom's shoulder "Shut up, ya damn dork. I'm staying because I wanna keep you safe. I don't give a damn about anyone else… just you"

Blossom's heart soared. She could feel her cheeks cook in the cold air and her heart beat manically in her chest, feeling even the ponytail of the other girl curtain and wrap around them in the breeze. Berserk's senses were haywire, her brain mush at the strawberry scented shampoo of the nerd and feeling her warm body pressed to hers.

"And" continued the stubborn bossy-boot punk, "If being with you means shouldering this stupid responsibility of saving these people and saving Townsville, having to 'play the hero', I'll do it"

"Berserk…" murmured Blossom, absentmindedly, in a somewhat dreamy manner. She was butter in the punk's arms.

It was plainly evident in the way the punk spoke she wasn't used to speaking from the heart. Earlier that night when they were dancing, she was very defensive and struck back hard when she attempted to unearth some emotional investment from the punk. She was boastful, smug, bossy, but... it was just her ego. Maybe she finally realized that. Maybe in Blossom's efforts to 'accept' Berserk, Berserk was trying to 'accept' her too. Maybe she really was Berserk's shadow. Right now, her speech was quiet and said directly into the Powerpuff's ear, making her legs shaky. She wasn't sure if it was the unintentional huskiness in her voice, but whatever it was, it caused butterflies to appear in the tummy of the heroine.

…She liked her.

"The behemoth's approaching!" announced Brick, ascending from the cloud, watching the beast leave Townsville and follow the blues and greens out into the sea.

 **END OF PART TWELVE**

 _(EDIT: Berserk was really out of character in this previously, so I gave it a re-write and I think it reads a lot better. So, yeah. Until next time)  
_


	13. The world is just another mirror

Sirens shattered the break of the storm. Now that the beast had been lead away, all was left was for the firefighters to rush in and attempt to save what they could. Miss Bellum sent out an urgent call to surrounding, neighboring communities for immediate assistance in putting out the flames. Professor Utonium had provided shelter for city residents, like Miss Keane, Bellum, the Mayor and some of his personal security.

"Thank you for the Coffee, Professor" cooed Bellum, her voice like silk.

"This is an absolute catastrophe! I can't believe it! My beloved city has been Barbecued!" sobbed the Mayor. "There's no way we can afford to replace so much of that damage"

"W-Well" tried Keane, pulling on her collar a little, in attempts to lift his spirits. "At least everybody was escorted out of the city bounds safely"

"Aww, shucks! That was all Miss Bellum. It was HER that kept a cool head while I was freaking out at the office! What on Earth are we going to do? What if there's really NOTHING left?" the little man cried in hysterics, waddling around in sheer panic.

Bellum put her coffee down and picked up the worrisome gent, who proceeded to shuffle his little legs, as she sat him down on a puffy arm chair "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Townsville has gotten by reasonably well in the past after recovering from monster and criminal acts and I'm sure this whole matter won't be a bit different"

The teacher turned to her host, tapping the rim of her cup nervously "I do hope your girls are alright"

Utonium shrugged, dismissively "Oh I'm sure they'll be fine... It'll be like every other day for them" he then stopped, his confident, cheerful look shriveling down and out, as he wondered where his darling redhead was. He looked to a nearby portrait of him and his kids, plucking the frame off the wall and stared down at the photo. A desperate sigh escaped him, leading his hands to tremble, as he stroked the head of his little Blossom in the picture.

* * *

"MUST YOU DELAY MY DESTINED MISSION?" called the behemoth, as it wadded through the waters, punching the air with every stride.

Up on the clouds, the reds were literally counting down the seconds to make their attack.

"Welp, fingers crossed guys!" beamed the leader.

"We don't have fingers" informed Brick, with a half eye-lidded expression.

Berserk snapped "It's a figure of speech!"

"Guys, forget it! No fighting. Time to focus!"

They braced themselves, staring down through a gap they'd made through the cloud, waiting for the abysmal creature to be guided directly into the spot. Buttercup, Butch, Bubbles and Boomer were directing their screaming towards it, zapping it of it's orientation as it attempted to wade towards them. The currents in the water were becoming more violent and slammed against the demon.

"Target identified" asserted Blossom. "Everybody suspend. Charge"

The three lifted up off the clouds and stretched out their arms in a 'T' and their hands began to radiate, picking up particles of energy that surrounded them, until they burnt. A high pitched whine rattled the air that had begun to blow with more intensity, as if the entity had another set of eyes above the atmosphere and was trying to blow them away.

Berserk shook her head, having thought she'd heard something. A voice. A whisper in her ear. The world begun to slow, to de-saturate from it's rich colours and in a flash, as if lightening had struck, the Earth had turned to black and white and everyone, everything, still as a statue.

* * *

"W-what... What the hell is this?" grunted the punk, spinning on her heel, observing this strange and familiar state. "The fuck's going on?"

 _"Ooooooooh, Berserk. You try to escape from one mirror and now you're trapped inside another just as big"_ returned the voice, hinted with an overt femininity, although was not spoken from a woman. " _In the words of Thomas Dreier: The world is a great mirror and it reflects back to you what you are"_

Although taken aback by the supernatural source of the voice, the doppelganger smirked "Sheesh, no wonder I think everybody's some asshole then"

The voice laughed and before the punk sprayed red smoke, winding and entwining around the kid "Ha ha, very good, Berserk. See, with that kind of attitude and outlook on the world, I'm sure you and I will get on just fine"

Swept away by an abrupt and illogical breeze, the smoke dispersed, becoming transparent, and there HIM stood; claws held up to his cheek, clamped, in adoration.

He almost jumped with surprise, as the little brat burst out laughing "Freakin' hell, are you SERIOUS? The devil's a drag queen and wants to be my friend? That's amazing!"

The previously enthusiastic imp slumped it's shoulders and hitched it's lips up in a sneer, as it watched the punk try to collect itself.

"It's called style, Berserk. Even the most ludicrous and rich of men have to have some to one up the world" he shot defensively, whipping his head away from her with a pout and closed eyes.

"Get over yourself, Beelze-butt" she mocked, smacking his side, making him almost jolt out of his burning skin in shock. "Yeah, I get it. The Devil wears Prada. What're you interrupting me for? I'm fucking busy"

Brushing himself off after that rude gesture, HIM cleared his throat "Well, I reckoned that with such an anarchistic, blood-thirsty temperament, you and I could work together and do other wonders for cities outside of Townsville after this one has been **DEMOLISHED** "

"Sounds swell and all, but no thanks. I've kinda got a promise to keep to someone" Berserk said, wavering her hands away, telling him to shoo.

"A promise, huh?"

"Yeah. I've come so far to get out of that limbo I was in for years and I ain't gonna screw this chance of proving myself up"

HIM contorted his face in a sickly grin "Oh, no. Of course. No one will want something like that"

The punk then darted right into the devil's face, her teeth bared "And I can tell instantly you're up to no good, so whatever it is you're trying to do: manipulate me, twist my words, threaten me, blackmail, it ain't gonna work"

"Oh, of course. I KNOW you're not gonna fall for any tricks. And you're not going to do anything just because I suggest or ask you too"

"Good"

The clouds returned, much thicker and a howling swallowed the girl into the thick red. It felt like she was being sucked into a black hole. She couldn't move. Pinned by, bound by, nothing. She growled and wriggled, doing her utmost to make the slightest movement and then HIM appeared again, snatching the punk by the cheeks and his eyes glew with blood red.

 **"I'M GONNA MAKE YOU!"**

* * *

"Hold up!" commanded Blossom, darting over to her punk counterpart, who had fallen back onto the cloud, clutching her temples, whining and whimpering.

Lowering her paws, the punk revealed a monstrous grin and bright red eyes that washed out any detail of her pupils and iris. Just plain red, sitting in her eye sockets.

"HIM!" yelled Brick and Blossom in unison.

"Oh, darn..." slithered the evident devil's voice. **"AND I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE SO EASY!"**

They projected lasers at HIM, having possessed Berserk's body and he took off away from the clouds and back into the city, his laughter a hellish scream.

"Fuck my life! Really?" shrieked Brick, pulling his hair. He darted through the floor and to his brothers.

"Guys! Hold him off, something's happened to Berserk!"

"You're kidding right?" cried Boomer, close to pissing his pants with how close the behemoth was coming.

"We can't wait long! He's gonna slay us!" Butch stated.

"For fuck sake!" shouted Brick. "Blind him, paralyze him, cripple him, just don't let him get away!"

With that, the boy took off, chasing after the two other hues, racing through the remains of Townsville.

 **END OF PART THIRTEEN**


	14. Know Thyself

**(WARNING: Controversial, religious themed subject matter ahead which some may find offensive)**

It already began to feel like a hell on Earth. The fires soared high into the air, licking and tickling the dark swarm of clouds that occasionally flashed a blinding stroke of light. After the visual assault on the senses a long and loud grumble would conquer briefly, rendering one deaf, as they flew over the open fire of Townsville. There wasn't much hope that anything could be saved. Troops invaded like ants in attempts escort residents and priceless objects safely from the raging inferno.

HIM cackled madly, his insidious vocals like nails on a chalk board, as he flew Berserk's body deeper and deeper into the dismal, blackened wreckage. Brick and Blossom felt themselves cooking on all sides, like a spitroast. Projecting lazers in attempts to shock and bring the possessed girl down, Blossom felt a sting of hurt deep inside. More ugly memories proceeded invade the poor girl's mind, all from the time HIM turned the love of Townsville citizens into hate or from when they traveled in time and the same, chaos thriving demon took over.

Halting in the air, Berserk clapped her hands out in front, stimulating ripples of airwaves that sent the impending Puff and Ruff back into the fire and disintegrating architecture.

"Ooooh Blossom" cooed the imp sickeningly. "You know deep inside you want this just as much I do. A clean slate. Start a fresh"

"Shut up and get out of my friend's body!" the girl shrieked, her gorgeous hair spread out as the tail of a phoenix on the brick and rubble pile on which she sat.

"The city has already been thoroughly baked enough" the freak went on, lying on her back in the air, twisting her head unnaturally. "Just let it go already"

The leader inhaled deeply and withdrew a long freezing blast, isolating the body of Berserk in a block of ice that sent her plummeting down to the ground. Blossom sped towards her, disturbed by the crooked, creepy smile that stained her features, like a china doll.

"Please, Berserk. I know you can hear me!"

* * *

 **She could. Very well so and she continued to writhe and struggle in the putrid bed of worms that restrained her. They wriggled about her form, bound her wrists and ankles to the living, breathing fleshly mattress like-wall. Beyond herself, was infinite darkness and a large pair of bright red eyes that danced in it, as the laughter spread like a parasite, echoing within the walls of her mind. HIM had taken over.**

 **"Blossom!" she shouted desperately.**

 **"HAHAHA! So much for a toughened, coal-black heart. You're just as susceptible as they are to the notions and loyalty of love"**

 **"Bite me, you tool!" she growled.**

 **The eyes flared and for a brief moment, she saw the hellish face of the devil "TOOL? ME?!"**

 **"Yes, you! You're just as much as a tool as the behemoth claims the townspeople are. You're a product of humanity, the personification for mankind's most irrational thoughts, dreams and actions. You are just a SHADOW of the human race"**

 **A nerve had been hit, one HIM thought one, especially some mortal, would ever tread on "HOW DARE YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY ESSENTIAL PURPOSE!"**

 **"YOU HAVE NO PURPOSE, LUCIFER! You're just a scapegoat symbol. I'll bet my own life if you present yourself before that monster, he'll be more inclined to take you out than the people of Townsville" snarled Berserk. She wasn't sure where any of this determination was coming from. She was willing to give herself up so that Blossom and everyone else could live a happy life afterwards. Maybe the devil was right. Maybe Berserk DID love her.**

 **"I'LL HOLD YOU TO THAT BET, YOU LITTLE VIPER!" hissed HIM and everything went black.**

* * *

Screaming, alarming her surrounding counterparts, Berserk threw back her head, as a black smoke rose from her throat and into the air, solidifying and forming the shape of HIM. "Well, well. You're friend sure does know how to make a bargain" sung the demon, grinning at the children.

"What did she-" started Brick, before seeing the creature warp out of their sight, blinking into sight with every second, as he made his way towards the beast out at sea.

"Hurry!" cried Blossom and pink and red streaks of light zig-zagged through the city, out into the open of the shores and sea.

HIM had already presented himself before the creature and the Behemoth turned his attention from the girls and boys to the floating entity with fascination. The kids had been pummeled, having done their all, just to keep the monster there for a matter of minutes. Buttercup spluttered and coughed blood, gazing at the spectacle and not knowing if there was some conclusion or certain defeat right before them.

"I must say" began the demon coyly "You certainly have a way of leaving an impression. Laying waste without a single thought otherwise and delighting as the people BLEED from the city bounds. But, I'm sure you know that what you have could be considered a wasted potential if I don't stand in. Let's turn this into an art, let us paint upon the planet with the blood of MILLIONS. Do away with the pestilence of the human race TOGETHER. After all, surely you'd like a trusting partner in all of this"

It was certainly clear that although he was a borderline manipulator, the father-of-lies, it was tough at points to distinguish whether or not his praises could be considered genuine flirting with the creature, or whether he really was just an expert at buttering one up. In any case, HIM stood ready for a sign of confirmation from the Cthulhu like deity of misery and chaos.

"I FIGURED EVENTUALLY I WOULD HAPPEN UPON YOU, SATAN. HOWEVER, I SEE THAT JUST LIKE THE HUMANS, YOU MISUNDERSTAND MY DELIVERANCE OF DESTRUCTION. IT IS FOR ALL ASPECTS OF THE HUMAN RACE, NOT JUST THEM ALONE. IT IS THEIR FUTURE AND THEIR HISTORY. THAT WHICH THEY HAVE MADE AND WOULD SURELY LEAVE BEHIND. AND THAT INCLUDES YOU"

Shots fired.

"W-Wh-what?" whimpered the devil, shaking.

"YOU HAVE BEEN WILLED INTO EXISTENCE IN THE SENSE THAT YOU ARE A FRAME OF MIND. YOU ARE JUST A REPRESENTATION OF THE DELUSIONS OF WHAT HUMANITY WOULD CALL GOOD AND EVIL, WHEN IN REALITY THESE THINGS ARE JUST CONCEPTS AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS AS WITH MANY OTHER MATTERS, THAT PERSUADE THE POPULATION TO THINK AND ACT IN WHAT WOULD BE DEEMED AN ACCEPTABLE MANNER IN YOUR CIVILIZATIONS AND DEMONIZE OTHERS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY EXIST OUTSIDE THESE PERPETUATED BOUNDARIES. YOU ARE JUST AS READILY DISPOSABLE AS THEY ARE, AS ALL YOU ARE IS A MEMORY OF THE MOST HEINOUS ATTRIBUTES THE HUMAN RACE HAS LATCHED ONTO AS A FORM OF EXCUSE FOR THEIR DEEDS. WITHOUT YOU, WITHOUT GOD, THEY HAVE ONLY THEMSELVES TO BLAME. WHICH THEY SHOULD"

The trunk of the elephant-headed being rose and the third eye that stared out intensely began harshly illuminated, drawing in particles from all around it, charging a ray of sorts. Everyone stared in horror.

"Have mercy!" pleaded HIM.

The RowdyRuff Boys darted into action and shot out lazers into the third eye, resulting in a terrifying scream. The devil was dumbfounded, still shock.

"Wh-what..."

"We saved you, dad" peeped Boomer, carrying their shaken father away from the unearthly being.

The Behemoth's trumpet blared and Berserk, Blossom and Brick finally linked hands a strange glow formulated between their triadic stance, accompanied by a whirring, similar to that of a revving engine, glow began to morph, stretch and warp in it's spot, building on up into the air. They were unsure what to expect, but it seemed whatever they were doing was working. The three closed their eyes. Memories of the past coursed through their brains and upon comprhension of what was and shall be, they spoke in unison.

"Nosce te ipsum!"

A whine dug in the fiery air and an eruption of light, as what had been formed between them stood, as a colossal combination of the three. A stark white Powerpuff/ruff/punk. It's form shimmered, like glass, reflecting the infernal blaze, the enraged waves of the sea, the swirling of the clouds. It threw a punch and the Behemoth flew back into the ocean. Everyone cheered at the progress, as the three remained in their meditative stance, their hands held. The creature then rose high and up, into the whirlpool of clouds, as thunder and lightening struck heavily across the scene. The ghostly formation of the three, resumed throwing heavy, full-hearted punches and kicks, ripping out the tongue of the beast that acted as a slug-like transport platform and proceeded to tie it around the misanthropic beast's throat, tying it in a bow of sorts. Ripping out it's third eye, shoving it down the Behemoth's throat, they then proceeded to take a hold of the trunk and built momentum, whirling it round, faster and faster. A final trumpet blared, as the beast was hurled off into the furthest reaches of space. The puppet rubbed it's hands of the remaining gore and vanished from existence.

The skies cleared and the sun shone brightly. Birds chirped. The inferno was put out, Blossom and Berserk shot over Townsville with their ice breath and Bubbles and Boomer washed away and cut out the final flames with a hiss with water from the sea. Buttercup and Butch scanned across the city, adjusting certain monuments and buildings that could be saved. Gradually, the fire department shooting in first to help, the residents let out a grand and thunderous cheer as they saw that, once again, the day was saved. Thanks to the Powerpuff Girls.

The Punk, Puffs and Ruffs flew down and were confronted by the cheers and praising of the citizens.

"Man, this is kinda weird" admitted Brick, unsure how to feel about being put in the spotlight.

"Yeah, I don't think this is something I can get used to" Butch agreed, looking around.

"Well, screw you guys" chuckled Boomer, seeing some of the girls faun over him and touching his hair.

However, Butch pushed them away from him "No fucking way. I ain't shouldering any responsibility after this mess. Let's go already" and the two boys sped off, leaving Brick.

The long haired chap turned to Blossom, who delivered a soft, affectionate smile "L-look, toots, don't get the wrong idea about any of this crap. This isn't gonna be a new thing for us. It's only 'cus you dragged our asses into it"

"Understood" she shrugged, still smiling.

The boy blushed lightly, frowning somewhat at the girl's soft voice and darted off to join his brothers, who had gone to console their father, who sat by on the pier, overlooking the now calm waters. He sighed.

"I've never felt so... insignificant in my life" he confessed, resting a hand on his claw, as he leaned forward on the rail.

"Get over yourself, pops" said Brick, not too harshly, but not too sympathetic either.

"That guy got his butt beat, you didn't" aided Boomer.

"Besides, he claims pretty much what everyone already knew, but that doesn't make you a phony or worthless or anything. You're the prince of darkness, The Lawless one, Governor of the unknown and you know that. Pride yourself in what you do and who you are"

Boomer spoke happily again "Besides, there are a lot of monsters out there swearing on destruction for the sake of destruction"

"There's only one HIM" finished Brick, kinda lamely, but it brought a soft smile on the devil's face.

* * *

Already, everyone was busy getting back to their construction and fixing up Townsville to be as good as new. As the girls went to shoot on home, Blossom looked behind her to see Berserk standing alone in the park.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up" she said.

"Whatever, go see your gal pal" murmured Buttercup, rolling her eyes.

Bubbles chuckled "Don't go flying off on your own again"

With that, they flew on towards home, while Blossom landed in the park to see her doppelganger. They looked to each other, not quite knowing what to say.

"Don't bother asking me to stay with your sisters or anything" informed Berserk blandly. "I'll be fine on my own. Besides, I can just go pester the guys if I get lonely"

"O-oh" Blossom responded, disappointment hanging in her tone. "Will I get to see you again?"

The double seemed rather uncomfortable for a moment, brushing some dust and ash from her plaid skirt "I don't know if it's a good idea"

The leader swallowed a lump in her throat. She hated to think that after all this, the one that helped her out, even if it was just for the means of breaking free from the mirror, was all done just for her to end up as another villain. It hurt. It hurt to think that the time they spent together, when they danced, laughed, joked around, all meant nothing. She felt a sting in her chest and warm tears build in her large eyes.

Hiding her face looking at the floor to avoid eye contact, Berserk looked to her with just as much of a sting in her own chest. She wasn't shedding any tears of course, but she still hurt. Snatching her copy's hand, she drifted into a gathering of trees with her so no one would see.

Blossom blinked, wiping away tears, her voice rough, croaky "W-What are we...?"

She was surprised when the punk pushed her against a tree and pinned her arms hard against the bark. "Stop fucking crying"

Both their hearts performed a marathon, knocking about excitedly in their chests as Berserk reached to kiss the bookworm's cheek. Their pony tails almost meshed together in a red curtain, strands tickling each other's faces and the punk pulled away, her intense, blood-red eyes locking with Blossom's delicate rosy pink ones. Stunned by the action, Blossom's face flushed a deep red and saw the delinquent's match pretty much the same in colour.

"Don't read into it too much" the punk whispered and she flew off.

End of Part Fourteen

(Okay, guys. Final chapter coming up. I hope you've enjoyed the ride and I'm sorry some things, especially in this chapter seem kinda rushed. I just wanted to finish this up, 'cus it was playing on my mind for a while. See you folks soon)


	15. Bad Girlfriend

It felt unreal and she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Once again, she'd broken curfew, and she shot around Townsville in every place she could think of. Places they'd been previously: The dump, the sewers, the train tracks, even back at the pier, but Blossom was unsuccessful. After such a chaotic day, having been up all night without a moment's rest, she was feeling herself start to weaken and longed for her bed. A whole day had passed and no doubt the Professor would be furious. Tears found themselves in her eyes and she started sobbing, painfully. Her chest hurt, her stomach felt like it was tied in a knot and her mind, haywire. She just wanted Berserk. She wanted her to be safe. She wanted her to be in her arms.

Why would she be so cruel? Why would she kiss her like that and leave without saying where she's going? Was she going to come back at all? Confused and heartbroken, the nerd took off home slowly, flying high in the air, unaware a pair of blood-red eyes, shimmering with guilt, watched her longingly from the shadows.

* * *

Back home, Buttercup was lounging in her beanbag listening to 'Come as you are' by _Prep School._ Seeing the leader slowly drift into the room, she was startled to see her sibling with slightly pinked, pained eyes, as if she had been crying. Slowly, she made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth, despite not eating for a whole day, didn't feel the least bit hungry.

"Okay, where is that two-faced son of a-" started Buttercup, throwing aside her headphones angrily, ready to blast out through the window, when the professor entered the room.

"Don't you finish that sentence, Buttercup" he warned sternly, turning his head to see Blossom in the girl's personal bathroom. Walking over, he parted his lips to speak, but was silenced by the agonized expression delivered by the red head, who turned on her stool to see him. Her large eyes shone with fresh tears, a fierce red staining her eyes and cheeks from her previous crying and bags sat beneath them, showing her complete exhaustion.

"You can ground me" she muttered quietly, defeatedly, turning back to the mirror to brush her teeth. "I understand"

"Blossom, I'm... " he began, but lost his voice. He was indeed angry, but also relieved to see his angel was alright, at least physically speaking. He wanted so dearly to embrace her, tightly and not let go, but there was a tension that acted as a barrier, preventing him from wanting to properly console his child.

"What happened?" he eventually managed.

"I can't find Berserk"

"I'm sure she'll turn up" he tried, his voice calm and collected.

"I looked all day for her, searched everywhere I could think of, for where she'd be" she squeaked, her voice cracking as new tears dripped down her cheeks and she trembled, dropping her toothbrush. The professor knelt and collected her in his arms, his heart breaking at the sound of his daughter crying and walked out from the bathroom.

"Well, there's your problem" started Bubbles, putting down her pencils, having been drawing a Rainbow dash.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Well, if there's anything you've learned today, it's that everybody is trying to find themselves in some way or other. What makes you think she'd be where YOU THINK she'd be? I'm sure if she used herself to represent your shadow self, you'd probably be hers"

A light bulb hung above Blossom's head and she darted out the window once again. The professor sighed, having some form of relief at least things were starting to get back to normal.

* * *

"Right, where would I go if I wanted to be off by myself?"

There were multiple ideas of where to go, but narrowed it down to one major possibility. The library. It was crazy to think that nutball would ever be caught in a million years somewhere like this. She wasn't even certain, it was a theory that she proposed to the punk yesterday that she was insulted by. For all she knew, it could've been a bunch of horseshit.

Nice and quiet. The massive building, thankfully untouched by the blaze, was really something to admire for it's beauty. She sneaked inside, pretty sure a library wouldn't have such defense systems as would the museum or a bank. It was dark, throughout, and admittedly kind of spooky. Just thousands of precious books sorted and waiting to be discovered by curious hands. Nothing was to be found downstairs, with all the new releases. It may as well have been a Foyles or a Waterstones with how much it shoved new authors down your throat. Ground level had fiction and children's books. She looked to the list by the elevator, showing certain sections by each floor. Psychology played a big theme yesterday, maybe she was there. So she ascended high up, passing each floor silently, and then a spot of light.

Far off, hidden in a corner, a familiar wild range of ribbons and a skull and cross-bone barrette gathered her attention. The punk was sat with piles of books assorted around her, like her own fortress and she was intently reading Carl Jung. Amidst some other others, some of which weren't even from the psychology section, was some philosophy. Authors like Butler, Foucault and Nietzsche surrounded her.

Smiling, her heart pounding, Blossom swept over without a single sound.

"I'll never be what you want me to be" directed Berserk, turning a page, not even giving so much as a glance at her double. "I know I'm meant to be evil, I'm meant to be a villain. It's not what's desirable it just works for me. I feel happy feeling power over others, being a psycho bastard..."

"It's okay" assured Blossom, rather smitten for the punk who was deep in her reading. She didn't know many others that read for pleasure, but guessed she shouldn't have been surprised, since she'd known so much about Carl Jung already.

"Is it?" pried Berserk, raising a brow at her. "Are you okay with the fact that we can never be friends?"

The delinquent blushed, when Blossom moved to be among the little fort and sat close to her. It was like a cat eager to get close to it's owner to be pet. She was expecting purring any second now.

"Well, since the monster was defeated, it's gonna be strange to assess myself and find my new place in life. I'm gonna be starting fresh. I'm not going back to that mess with Oppressor Plutonium"

"Good"

The blush spread further and the doppelganger cleared her throat, placing a bookmark for her read and placing it aside.

"Being here with you..." she admitted. "Without a barrier, still seems strange. It's been a long time since I've ever made psychical contact with anyone beyond my reflective state"

"Well, you don't seem to be afraid in exploring that territory considering earlier at the park"

It was amusing, watching the Punk become muddled with words, become shy and introverted. It was almost eerie, seeing a part of herself literally shown in Berserk. Although it shouldn't surprise her, but it did, as she remembered that Berserk was literally an evil counterpart of herself. Talk about Narcissism. She guessed it was how Berserk felt all this time. It was strange. Very strange. But it wasn't like they were EXACTLY the same person.

"Things are going to be strange I think no matter what" said Blossom, curiously looking at the authors Berserk had picked. "But, regardless of the crazy things that have happened for the last few days, I'm still thankful for everything you did, showing me to be myself"

Berserk smirked "Well, it wasn't all about you, hun. I had to get outta that mirror somehow. And..." he confidence faded "Y-yeah, thanks for trusting me. Well, I should say, trusting your shadow"

"But, you know..."

"Hmm?"

Blossom played with her pony tail, her eyes darting around nervously "I'd have to say... I think the best part in all of this, knowing myself and all, is that I got to learn to accept and love myself. Love myself for who I am and... it feels great"

As she said the last part, her eyes locked with the punk and she blushed lightly. Berserk gulped, twice as red "Err... Yeah, that's great. Freakin' egoist"

Chuckling, Blossom lurched forward and clung to the punk's arm in a cuddle "Yeah, speak for yourself, asshole"

The two exchanged a little laugh and Berserk shoved her back with a grin. They shot each other devious glances. They couldn't roughhouse in a library... well they could, but they shouldn't. In any case, the two charged at each other and literally stood in a firm stance, wrestling almost, trying to knock and throw each other about. Little playful growls and cackles livened the massive space of the library. Blossom didn't get why she couldn't do something like this with Buttercup, play fight like this, but then again, the professor would tell them to knock it off. Maybe she should try to instigate it... There was an undeniable thrill from knocking each other about, as long as it didn't go too far.

Eventually the two tired, with black eyes and some bruises. The two chuckled from the activity and sat back down the with books.

"You're a real fruitloop" laughed Berserk.

"And you're a fucking bitch" retorted Blossom with a mean smile.

The surge for more roughhousing returned and Berserk grabbed her counterpart, pinning her down on the floor. Whilst still chuckling, Blossom built up the courage to kiss the punk on the lips. She didn't expect it to be so sweet. Perhaps from all the soda and candy she may have no doubt have stolen. She knew she wasn't supposed to have sugar, after the incident with Mojo jojo, but it was so addictive. There was stale smell that Blossom found rather annoying, clearly cigarettes, but she put up with it, figuring she'd get used to it.

The punk was unsure what to make of the returned kiss, but found she rather liked it. Stroking the other girl's hair, she'd longed to do that for a while, seeing how silky and smooth it looked. Blossom gasped and squeaked at the daring nips at her bottom lip. The geek, motivated by her repressed love for sugar, slipped her tongue into the other girl's mouth, resulting in the punk trying to pull away, but found the stubborn nerd had reached behind her head to keep her close. The punk blushed furiously, and moaned, feeling the soft tongue of the bookworm caress hers. She began stroking back with her tongue, running her fingers through Blossom's hair, freeing it from it's bow and letting the magma strands spill out across the floor.

Needing breath, the two parted their lips at last, panting and the girl's gazed at each other. Berserk's heart throbbed, glancing down at the girl beneath her, watching her chest rise and fall.

"Don't..." started Blossom "read too much... into it" she said tantalizingly, mocking Berserk's line from earlier.

The snickered, still blushing deeply.

"I love you" Blossom sighed in a more dreamy manner than she had intended.

Wriggling her nose, Berserk smiled "I love you too, egghead"

Sitting up, Blossom kissing her cheek once more, Berserk picked her book back up, returning to her page she was at previously, her girlfriend leaning her head on her shoulder, reading with her:

 _"_ _There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." - Carl Jung_

* * *

Back home, Buttercup tossed and turned, grumbling angrily to herself, as she attempted to ignore a sincere knocking, coming from their dresser mirror.

 **The End**

(Hallelujah, it's done. I hope you've all enjoyed it. I actually struggled to find a suitable quote to finish on, because there's so many damn good ones, but I felt this was the best, as it kinda summed up what the characters went through. I'll be looking to finish other works off very soon. Until then, If you'd like more minor, even oneshot, stories of Berserk and Blossom, I'm happy to do so. Bye for now!)


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